Who Said Cooks Can't Fight?
by RollinGxStaR
Summary: KenpachixOC Kiriumi's a young shinigami fresh from the academy. After a suggestion from her dear friends, Ikkaku and Yumichika, she ends up in the eleventh division. What kind of situations and problems will arise in her time there?
1. Chapter 1

Hmm? Oh, it seems there's another story I get to narrate.

"Yeah, but this ones not gonna be as easy as Taru-chan's." The dark haired girl, Unohana Kiriumi, grinned, placing her hands behind her head in a relaxed manner. "This story is one of food, drinking, violence, and one rather large, dysfunctional family. And it's kind of a love story, I guess."

Yeah, your love of cooking!

Rolling her eyes the shinigami continued. "No, it's about me finally getting out of the academy and finding my place! Which actually ends up being in the eleventh division of all places. Which I end up getting VERY close with Kenpachi Zaraki"

Now now, you don't want to go and give everything away at the start of the story! And so, onwards to the love fest!

* * *

"Almost done..." Placing a small sprinkle of parsley in the main dish Kiriumi smiled to herself, feeling quite proud at the moment. No, not only because she had just cooked a seven-course meal that could feed half of Seireitei, but also because earlier that day she, Renji, and Izuru had all graduated from the academy. "Perfect!" She shouted, jumping up and looking at her picture perfect meal. "Now time to go get those idiots so we can celebrate!"

Brushing off her hands on the apron she was wearing over the normal uniform, she took off at top speed heading for where she felt Renji's reiatsu. "Reeeeenjiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!" She shouted, jumping onto the shoulders off her dear friend and sticking her upside-down face right in Renji's. "Renji! I made us all a celebratory dinner! And you're coming!" Looking up from her position she finally noticed that Rukia was there. "Hey, Rukia-chan! You're coming too right?"

Smiling politely Rukia waved her hands in front of her. "Well, I'm not sure. I've got things going on, and--"

"Great! You and Renji can head over to my place and make yourselves at home! I've gotta go find Izuru-kun, and Yumi and Ikka, and Hanatarō, and I've gotta go see if maybe Nee-san-taichō and Isane-fukutaichō can also come. So I'll see you guys in a couple of minutes!" Not bothering to wait for a reply the youngest of the Unohanas ran off in the direction of Izuru's reiatsu.

She eventually found him at the graves of his parents. "...Well, I've done it." He said to the empty darkness.

With a gentle smile the dark eyed girl landed quietly behind the fragile blond. "Izuru-kun, I don't mean to interrupt anything, but I made a meal in celebration of our graduation. And I want you to celebrate with everyone!" She grinned widely, in hopes of making her friend smile too.

He turned to her and smiled kindly. "I'd love to come, I just wanted to visit my parents to let them know of my accomplishment."

"Well, I'm sure they're very proud of you! I know I am!" The smile on her lips spread wider, if at all possible. "I've gotta go invite some other people, so you can go meet Renji and Rukia at my place." Nodding softly, Izuru made his way to Kiriumi's home. Before leaving to find more of her friends, she quietly whispered, "You truly must be proud. Please, continue to watch over him." And then she was gone, leaving the grave site empty once again.

Next stop, fourth division. Not in surprising in the least, Hanatarō was out sweeping the division entrance. Before he was even aware of her presence, he found himself enveloped in a tight hug. "Oh, Kiriumi-san!"

"Hi, Hana-chan! I'm having dinner at my place to celebrate graduating from the academy!" Setting him down in front of her, she looked down at him and gave him the best "cute" look she could muster. "You're coming, right?"

"Of course, just let me go put some things away." He smiled up at her.

"Great! Just head over to my home, okay? A couple people should be there already. I'll be there after I talk to Nee-san-taichō and Isane-fukutaichō, and some friends in the eleventh division." Leaving Hanatarō to get to that, she headed deeper into the fourth division. She quickly found her older sister and Isane in the captains office, going over paperwork. "Hi, Nee-san-taichō! Hi, Isane-fukutaichō! I was wondering if you guys could come to the celebration dinner I'm having."

Smiling kindly at her younger sister, Unohana shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kiriumi-chan, but we're quite busy tonight. Zaraki-taichō drilled his underlings, so there are quite a few injured, and we're needed here."

Feeling slightly disappointed, Kiriumi frowned. "Okay, I'll just bring you both some food later." Smiling again, she quickly waved to them and made her way to the eleventh division, which she had come to know quite well.

As expected, Ikkaku and Yumichika were out enjoying the fresh summer evening. What wasn't quite expected was that Yachiru and Kenpachi were there with them. The young pink haired girl was busy trying to catch all of the fireflies that were around. Being careful to land directly on Ikkaku's stomach, the cook joined their party. "Good evening, Kiri-chan." Yumichika smiled at her.

"Hi, Yumi-chan! Hi--" Before she could finish greeting everyone, Ikkaku shoved her off, causing her to fall on her ass. "Ikka, that was mean!" She whined.

He snorted. "It's your own damn fault! You shouldn't of jumped on me like tha-ow!!" Kiriumi had already gotten up and pulled Ikkaku into a rather uncomfortable head-lock.

"What was that, luck-luck-boy? And to believe I was about to invite you to dinner!" As they continued to wrestle, Kenpachi noticed how good she honestly was. Ikkaku couldn't really pin her down.

Meanwhile, Yumichika took note of her mentioning dinner. "Oh, Kiriumi, did you make one of your oh-so beautiful meals?"

Looking up from her current position of pulling Ikkaku's leg in a way it most definitely shouldn't be pulled, she smiled. "Why yes I did! I made a celebratory dinner for Renji, Izuru and I, who graduated, and I was inviting some of my friends! Renji, Rukia-chan, Izuru-kun, and Hanatarō-chan should already be there. Nee-san-taichō and Isane-fukutaichō couldn't come though. So I was stopping by to invite you guys! Although I'm not sure if Ikkaku deserves it," she said, giving his leg another pull, "but you're welcome to come, Yumi-chan! And if you'd like, Zaraki-taichō, you and Yachiru-fukutaichō are more than welcome to come!" That's when Ikkaku took the chance to flip their positions, so now he was sitting oh her stomach and holding her arms down with his legs, and her legs with his arms.

"You know I'd never pass up one of your meals." Yumichika smiled so beautifully he practically sparkled.

"I even made extra daifuku and steamed dumplings!" As Ikkaku got off of her, she soon found herself being tackled by Yachiru.

Climbing all over the young graduate, Yachiru was cheering. "Yay! I love sweets! Can we go, Ken-chan? Can we? Can we?!"

Kenpachi shrugged, gruffly mumbling, "Yeah, whatever."

Ikkaku stood up and brushed himself off. "This better be a good meal."

"When are my meals ever bad?" Kiriumi grinned, flipping her hair in a cocky manner. As everyone stood and prepared to leave, Yachiru jumped on Kenpachi's back. Grinning widely, the dark eyed girl jumped on Ikkaku's shoulders. "Onward to victory!" He didn't move. Glaring down at him, she continued, "Move or you don't get any food." Sighing in defeat, Ikkaku began flash stepping toward Kiriumi's home.

When they got there Renji and Izuru were talking together while Rukia and Hanatarō also made small talk. Jumping off Ikkaku, Kiriumi made her presence known. "Well, now that everyone's here, let the feast begin!"

Everyone began serving their own food and drink as they all chatted merrily amongst themselves. And that's basically how the night went, everyone just generally having a good time, enjoying the food, some getting a little drunk. Izuru, Rukia and Hanatarō were the first to leave, but Renji soon followed. Though the eleventh squad, along with Kiriumi of course considering it was her home, stayed later.

* * *

"So," Yumichika began, sipping his sake, "what are you going to do next? Do you know what squad you'll be put on?"

Leaning back, and setting down her specialty tea, Kiriumi sighed. "You know, I'm not quite sure. Nee-san-taichō said that she would love having me around, but Renji told me I have a better knack for causing damage than healing it. There's word going around that most of the graduates are being placed in the fifth squad, but I don't think I'd really fit in there." Lowering her gaze to her lap she noticed that Yachiru had fallen asleep there. "Oh, she fell asleep. I guess it is pretty late for her. Here I'll take her back to the eleventh division and put her in bed."

As the three men watched the two girls leave, a fairly comfortable silence settled over them. Until Kenpachi broke it. "You two think she'd be good in our squad?"

"Of course." The two answered simultaneously.

"She's quite determined, and loves a good fight just about as much as anybody else in our division." Yumichika added.

"Kiri-chan's always been violent, puttin' her in our squad might help put that violence to good use. Hell, she could probably even make fourth seat! We all know the fifth squad wouldn't do shit for her." Ikkaku snorted.

Kenpachi nodded, letting the silence settle over them again. And just like when she had left, Kiriumi returned to a generally silent home. "Well, she's happily sleeping in her own bed. I hope things haven't been too boring around here."

"No, I think we're set." Ikkaku grinned, refilling his cup of sake.

"Well then," she carefully stacked several dirty plates on top of each other, taking them into the kitchen, "I hope you all don't mind if I clean up a bit then."

"Oh, Kiri-chan, that can wait! You should come have a drink with us!" Yumichika smiled, pouring some sake into an empty cup.

Looking at the food which could spoil if she didn't put it away, the dark eyed girl debated in herself. "But the food--"

Her sentence was cut short when she felt a strong hand pull her down onto a seat. Under the curious eyes of the young woman, Kenpachi shifted slightly. "It's your party, you should enjoy it. Plus those two will help you later anyway." He motioned to Ikkaku and Yumichika who were sitting across the table from them. Then he put the cup Yumichika had poured in front of her. "Go ahead, have a drink."

Examining the drink set before her, she smiled. "Oh hell, why not?" She then proceeded to down the drink, shuddering at the bitter taste.

Kenpachi grinned widely, "Now that's more like it."

* * *

That's it for now. We'll skip a little bit ahead next, to where Kiriumi's part of the eleventh squad along with Renji.

"Horray! Renji's definitely one of my best buddies!" The young shinigami grinned. "And maybe some romance will show up soon!"

Yup. Kenpachi totally digs you....in his own sort of way.......yeah...

"Well, he's a great captain. And he's actually much deeper than most would assume. But, you'll have to find out about that later" Kiriumi smiled, playfully sticking her tongue out at the audience.

So, adieu my friends, until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

So...came back for more, huh?

"You make it sound like we kicked their asses or something." Kiriumi mentioned.

Well, it's supposed to be a violent story...

The shinigami rolled her eyes. "And that's why you'll never be part of my division..."

* * *

Yawning widely, Kiriumi leaned back against the wall she was sitting in front of. It had been quite a few years since she had graduated from the academy, and she was currently the sixth seat in the eleventh division. But she was slowly making her way through the ranks. She knew that as soon as she reached bankai, she could definitely be fourth seat. Then she'd be right in between two of her best friends, Ikkaku and Yumichika. Despite being on guard at the moment, Kiriumi leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. In a couple minutes her shift would be over anyway, then she, Yumichika and Ikkaku would go shopping for the rest of that day.

Suddenly, she felt a hand, pulling her into a head lock. "Slacking off again, huh?" Renji used his free hand to rub his knuckles in her hair.

"Hey! No fair!!" She yelled, trying to pry his arm off of her. "You snuck up on me! I out-rank you!!"

"That doesn't matter!" He grinned, rubbing her head harder.

Growling in frustration, Kiriumi used her legs to wrap them around his head and used her own body weight to slam him on the ground. He let go of her neck and tried to grab her arms, but she had already pinned his arms behind his back while she sat on his face. "I'm also still quicker than you too!"

Her victory was cut short though when someone kicked her on her back and sent her rolling forward. Landing on her stomach she looked back to see who had had kicked her to find Ikkaku standing there, with Yumichika not to far behind him. "I thought you were supposed to be on guard, not restlin' with Abarai here." Ikkaku said, stepping on Renji and walking towards Kiriumi.

"I'll get you another time, monkey-ass-face!" She said, sticking her tongue out at Renji. He stuck his tongue out back at her, but got up to take his shift in guard duty nonetheless. "So you two ready to go shopping?"

"No." Ikkaku simply said. "I ain't going."

"But, Ikka-kun, you promised! And we won't be able to have fun without you!" Yumichika added, pouting in a rather beautiful way.

Rolling onto her back and looking towards her bald friend, Kiriumi glared pouting ever so slightly. "Wah, Ikka-kun, you're being so mean! Why can't you just let Yumi-chan and I have some fun?"

Ikkaku sighed, crouching down and poking her on her forehead. "'Cause when you two have fun, I always get the bad side of the deal." She continued glaring at him and swatted his hand away from her forehead.

"But, Ikka-kun!" Yumichika whined, leaning down against Ikkaku's back. He flicked his hair and frowned, which was really more of a pout anyway, before continuing, "You promised you'd do whatever Kiri-chan and I wanted to do today!"

He scoffed, shrugging the more beautiful man off of his back. "Che. That was before I realized I'd be playin' the role of you pack-mule again..."

Kiriumi jumped up and stood next to Yumichika as they both put on very similar pouting expressions. "A promise is a promise! Don't be cruel, Ikka-ka!"

If this had been a battle, Ikkaku would have been desperately loosing. "Quit callin' me that, Kiri-chan." But looking at their puppy-dog-pout faces, Ikkaku knew he had lost this battle completely. He sighed, and mumbled under his breath, "Che. Whatever, let's just get this over with..." It was surprisingly silent for a moment, but that sweet silence was quickly shattered by two twin squeals of excitement. And Ikkaku then found himself enveloped in two simultaneous hugs.

"We love you Ikka-kun!" The young, quite violent, girl said, planting a friendly kiss on his cheek.

* * *

Yelping slightly as she slammed into the wall, Kiriumi glared at Ikkaku. "Owch! You're being more aggressive than usual, Ikka-kun..." She mumbled, rubbing the spot on her back that had been hit the hardest.

"I don't think that's it, Kiri-chan..." Yumichika added, from the spot he had been watching the fight.

Grabbing her scythe like zanpakutō, she dusted off her now dirty clothes. "What do you mean?"

Ikkaku smacked her on the back of her head. "You're not takin' your fightin' seriously! What's with you?!"

She lowered her eyes to the ground sadly, her grip on her weapon tightening slightly. "I...I don't know...Hoshiyabun's been restless lately, but when I try sparring with you he just gets frustrated."

"Perhaps he's just in need of real combat." The feather-faced man suggested.

"Maybe..." She shrugged, releasing him from shikai and sheathing Hoshiyabun. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and I planned to go home today."

The bald man crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Who are you kiddin'? This is your home!"

She rolled her eyes and placed her apron-like accessory back around her hips. "You know what I meant! I'm going back to the sixty-fourth district. Just for the day, I'd be back before breakfast. And before you start worrying, I've got a stew brewing that should be able to feed the entire division, and I've got someone to turn it off when it's done. So you two have nothing to worry about."

Her two dear friends knew she could handle herself, but the prettier man still felt the need to warn her. "Remember to be careful. It's dangerous to be going around the higher numbered districts by yourself."

Waving off his warnings, the girl smiled at them. "I'll be fine! Oh, and before I forget, could one of you let Zaraki-taichō know I'm leaving? Okay, I'll see you both later!" Without waiting for a reply, she flash-stepped out of the room and out of the division. She had a sword on her hip, money in her pocket, and quite the distance to go. But her excitement was so intense she never stopped for a moment.

* * *

Well...bye bye comedy.

"Only for a bit! It'll be back...well...eventually..." Kiriumi sighed.

* * *

"Hmm...Kiri-chan's ba..." Yumichika stopped in mid sentence upon seeing his friends current condition. She was covered with random splotches of blood, and clutching a small colorful beaded necklace in one hand as she dragged her non-released zanpakutō in her other. "Kiriumi, are you alright?!"

She looked calmly at him and shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm going to bathe in the springs to wash all this blood off." And so, she walked away, leaving one of her closest friends stunned.

Quickly, Yumichika went off to find Ikkaku. He eventually found him speaking with Kenpachi. "Ikkaku! Something terrible has happened!!"

Kenpachi rubbed his head. "Stop shoutin', will ya?"

"What's the problem?" Ikkaku asked, not really interested either way.

"It's Kiriumi!" Both other males perked up just slightly. "I just saw her and the sight was not beautiful! Obviously something terrible happened to her, I've never seen her with that look!"

The bald one sighed. "Where's she at?"

Frowning frustratedly, the beautiful one placed his hands on his hips. "Aren't you worried?! She comes back covered in blood, and not acting like herself and all you can do is sigh?!"

Their captain stood up. "If you'd both just shut up, then we can go find her."

* * *

_This place she was going wasn't really her home. Her home was where she and her older sister Retsu used to live, but that was so long ago she could barely remember. So, instead, she claimed her home to be the place she went to live when she and her sister got separated. As she continued running, thoughts of her friends their were buzzing through her head. "It'll be so much fun! I'll get to see how Akito-kun and Hitomi-chan are doing, and I bet by now their married with children! I can't wait to find out! And I'm sure Noriko-chan is much bigger by now. And I wonder how gramps-Satoru is doing! Is he even still alive? I hope he is!"_

_She practically exploded with excitement when she saw the small village she stayed in for so long. "Hitomi-chan!! Akito-kun!! Are you guys still here!? Noriko-chan!! Gramps!! Where are you all at?!" Kiriumi called, looking around the small village for any form of life. But she could find none. "Guys?! Anyone!!?"_

_

* * *

_

It was fairly late in the morning, so it was no real surprise that the hot spring was fairly empty. Which was good in Kiriumi's opinion. She really just wanted some alone time to think things over. "Things like this happen." Hoshiyabun said, materializing in his shining, human-esque form. The shinigami looked up at him, his long, golden hair flowed behind him like rays of light as he sat down on a large rock next to the spring.

"Y'know, this is the girls side." She snorted, turning away from him.

He smirked, silver eyes glowing as he eyed his companion. "Then it's a good thing no one else can see me but you." She still tried to ignore him. "You're not going to get rid of me by ignoring me. I know that you're upset because of what happened, but you should be old enough to handle this. Things like this do happen to people, it doesn't matter who they are."

Tears finally falling from her eyes, Kiriumi sniffled. "If it could have been anyone, then why was it them?"

He placed his elegant hand on her shoulder. "I don't know. Nobody does. But, what I do know is that you are stronger than this. No matter what, you can move on. You can't change the past, but you can work towards a better future. And I'll be there with you...always..." Feeling that he'd gotten his message across, Hoshiyabun faded away.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she sighed. He was right, and she knew it. She sighed again, washing the blood out of the short back of her hair and the much longer front. "He's right. And I'll be there for my friends next time anything happens." After getting rid of all the blood and putting the necklace on, she quickly tossed on her dirty clothes, just to use until she could get some fresh clean ones.

* * *

Oooh, drama...Yeah, Kiriumi isn't in the mood for an ending comment, so...yeah....But, don't worry about her, she'll be back to normal soon enough! The only real difference is that she'll be just a bit more mature! So, I guess you guys will just have to wait until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Welp, another part's out!

"Baths are good! They really make you feel better." Kiriumi sighed.

Mmhmm, so...yeah....We don't really have anything to say.....Go read this chapter.

* * *

"Is she even in there?" Kenpachi complained, getting frustrated with just waiting outside of the womens' bath house. They hadn't been waiting there too long, but he was slightly worried about his underling and waiting wasn't making it any better.

Yumichika frowned slightly, worry being pushed out of the way for annoyance. "If you're so worried, taichō, why don't you go in and check."

The captain glared at his fifth seat. "You look the most like a girl, why don't you check." He grumbled, going back to just glaring at the wall to the womens' bath house.

Several minutes later the door opened and out walked the one they had all been worrying over. Her body was clean, but her clothes were dirty, and there was a blank look upon her face. "K...Kiri-chan?" Yumichika asked, not quite sure what to do.

Ikkaku's hand on her arm was enough to shake her out of her thoughts. "Oh! Sorry! I was thinking...What are you three waiting for?"

"We were waitin' for you." Kenpachi said, looking down on her.

She smiled up at him. "Well that was kind of you. But I'm fine, you didn't need to wait for me. Although, I am a bit tired, so I'm going to go back to my room." Not even giving anyone a second glance she just walked off, ignoring Ikkaku calling her.

"Do you see what I mean?" Yumichika said, placing his hands on his hips.

"Maybe we should get Unohana-taichō." Ikkaku suggested.

Kenpachi was already walking back to the division. "Che. She ain't hurt physically. She'll be fine by tomorrow."

The pretty fifth seat still wasn't quite sure. "If...If you say so, taichō."

* * *

_That was when she noticed someone's legs halfway through the door. She quickly ran over to see a much older looking Hitomi, clutching a child in her arms, and with a sword sticking through her chest and the child's. Most of the blood had been soaked into their clothes or the dirt which meant this had to have happened a few days ago. Feelings of grief and sorrow consumed the young shinigami as she tightly clutched the hilt of her weapon. "What will you do now?" Hoshiyabun's voice called in her head._

_She closed her eyes and let the rage set in. "I will find those responsible...and drag them through the gates of hell myself!!"_

_

* * *

_

Things hurt, but they do get better. You'll be strong enough to protect your friends next time.

"But it still hurts right now." She sighed.

Just try not to think about it...

* * *

_"This crap ain't worth shit!! The fuck 'm I apposed ta do with this necklace?!" One fat bandit asked his tiny companion._

_The short one snorted. "It's yer own damn fault! Yer the dip shit who grabbed that fuckin' worthless shit! Who the fuck is that? What a babe!"_

_Kiriumi walked into the clearing with a surprisingly calm expression. Completely blocking out the world around her, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Pulling out her weapon she could just barely hear Hoshiyabun calling to her. "Do it."_

_"Bankai." She whispered, her reiatsu flaring up like a red sunburst causing the bandits to fall to the ground as her normal scythe like weapon grew another blade that curved around the bottom of the other making a crescent moon shape, while a long chain with a star like blade connected to the end grew out of the bottom._

_And the rest was a blur._

_

* * *

_

"Dammit!" Kenpachi growled, sitting up in his bed and staring at the dark wall of his room. It was obviously late considering the moon was no longer in the sky. Frustrated with his lack of sleep, the eleventh division captain decided to go for a walk to see if that would make him feel tired again. The quietness of the division was strange, but it would be expected this time of night. To the captain's surprise there was a bright light coming from under one of the doors up ahead. "Who the hell else is up at this time of the night?" Quietly as he could, he slid the door open. Inside Kiriumi was hunched over the small table in the middle of the room, and shaking slightly. "Kiriumi?

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her captains gruff voice. Wiping at her eyes quickly, she cleared her throat. "Oh, Zaraki-taichō, what are you doing up? It's really late."

Closing the door behind him, he took a seat next to her at the table. "Couldn't sleep."

Getting up to turn the kettle back on, she smiled at him. "Well, maybe one of my special teas could help you out with your sleeping problem."

He nodded, though she didn't see him. "...What happened earlier?" There was a loud crash when she dropped the kettle. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Still not turning to face him, Kiriumi picked up the kettle and fixed it before putting it over the flame. "More death." She stated, pulling out certain herbs to make her captain his tea. "It was my old friends, they had been attacked by bandits and all had been killed." Placing the cup to the side she sat back down next to Kenpachi. "So, I tracked those bastards down and made sure none were left alive." Her captain seemed to be thinking about what she was saying. Smiling sadly she continued. "I even attained bankai while doing so!"

"...So, you're feeling alright?" He questioned, looking at his young sixth seat.

The kettle rang a high squealing sound. "Yes. I'm feeling strangely at peace with it now. I think it was because Hoshiyabun was comforting me earlier." She turned off the heat and poured her captain, and herself, some tea. " And I know that Hitomi-chan and everyone else would be happy that they were avenged. They wouldn't want me to be moping around anyway, they'd want me to live on and learn from that mistake." She trailed her hands along the bright beads fastened around her neck. "That's why I'm keeping this necklace, as a reminder of why I must always be there for my friends."

"She's a lot more mature than when she first came to the division." The large man thought, looking up at the tall, thin girl as she brought over their tea. "She's definitely ready for fourth seat." He couldn't help but check out the curves of her figure that were clearly showing through her sleeping robe. She was fairly tall, definitely taller than her older sister, and thin for her height. But not so thin that she looked bad, just a bit frail. Which was obviously not the case as you would know if you had fought her. Her chest was also the perfect size for her, not too big like Rangiku's but not too small like Rukia's. In general her body fit her perfectly.

Sitting down next Kenpachi, she finally took notice that he didn't have his hair up with those ridiculous bells. And she had to admit, he was quite attractive that way. In truth, she had always held some feelings for her captain, but tried her hardest to hide them at all times. Feeling a light blush creeping onto her cheeks for thinking about her small crush, she looked down into her tea. "I'm sorry for not making any meals for anyone earlier."

Her captain waved it off. "Don't worry about it. This division's big enough to fix their own dinners."

Kiriumi smiled up at him, resting her head on her entwined fingers. "I know. I don't question your amazing, hidden cooking skills, taichō." She laughed, trying to keep as quiet as she could so she wouldn't awaken any other sleeping division members.

The eleventh division captain smiled back at her. A smile really did fit her much better than a frown did. "This tea's really doin' the trick, I'm gonna head back to bed." He said, getting up to leave quickly. In truth, he wanted to stay and talk with his subordinate, just being around her made him feel kinda...happy would be the best way to describe it. But that was exactly what was making him uncomfortable.

"Are you sure, taichō? You wouldn't like more tea, or something to eat?" The dark haired girl was enjoying herself just as much as Kenpachi, and she really wanted to stay with him longer.

"I'm good. I'll just see you in the mornin'." He gruffly stated, leaving the young shinigami alone with her thoughts. Looking back out of the corner of his eye, the captain saw a forlorn expression covering her elegant features. That look would definitely haunt his dreams...

* * *

"So, so lonely..." Kiriumi sighed, taking a sip of her tea.

So what am I? Chopped liver?!

"Voices in my head don't count."

Your mom doesn't count...

* * *

It was strange. Kiriumi had been hoping since she had gotten into this division that she could make fourth seat, but now that she had it it just felt strange. All the people congratulating her, the look Yumichika continued to give her, Yachiru jumping around on her shoulder...it almost didn't seem like it was real.

"What's wrong with you?" Hoshiyabun called in her head. "This party is for you, you earned it. So why not enjoy yourself?"

Smiling and nodding at another person congratulating her, the fourth seat sighed mentally. "What makes you think I'm not enjoying myself? All the praise and congratulations I'm getting are quite enjoyable."

He scoffed. "Really now? Then why not have a drink? You're not exactly the life of the party at the moment."

"If it'll get you to shut up..." She grumbled, grabbing the nearest bottle of sake, (which happened to be in Renji's hands), and taking a large swig of it. This was going to be quite a long night...

* * *

"Honestly, Aba...Abadar...Abbaba.....Renji, (lol, Renji rhymes with Benji...), drunk not totally I'm..." Kiriumi tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face.

Sure you're not...Well, that's it for now, I've gotta go find someone to take her back to her room...

She grabbed the Narrators arm and started pulling off her sweater. "I'm gon' make you feel special..."

No current witty comment available here; the Narrator's already in Greenland.

"Lolz, that was fast!" And with that our drunk heroine passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

And now we will see natures way of telling you "you're fuckin' retarded."

"Shut up!!" Kiriumi whined, holding an ice pack to her head. "Hangovers suck!"

Too true...Onto the next chapter!

* * *

Harsh, throbbing pain in her head brought Kiriumi out of her world of dreams. Which was actually a good thing considering her dream was quite a strange one... "Damn, my head is killing me! What was with last night? I know I was drinking, but I don't remember anything after jumping Renji and trying to get him to drink some jello shots...What happened after that, though?!" Thinking on it only made the throbbing pain in her head even worse. Just then an image of her kissing her captain flashed through her mind. "D-did I..."

"So you're awake." Ikkaku sat on the floor next to the door, staring closely at the new fourth seat. "Took you long enough...I didn't know you were such a lightweight when it comes to sake. Or such a crazy drunk..." He grinned at her as her face grew red from embarrassment. "I'm sure Renji'll be having nightmares 'bout your very upfront approach...And then taichō--"

He was cut off from his teasing when a shoe hit him directly in between his eyes. "Shut up!" She shouted, placing her hand on her head. "I was drunk! It doesn't count if I kissed Kenpachi-taichō when I was drunk."

His anger quickly faded away as he threw the shoe into the closet and strut over to her futon before plopping down right next to her. "Kissin' taichō, eh? Now that's news to me."

A darker flush covered her cheeks. "It's not...I'm not even...sure...I-I don't even know....It must have been a dream! I really don't remember anything after getting Renji to do jello shots. So it's possible that I dreamed it."

"Che. The point is you're thinkin' 'bout kissin' the taichō. You like taichō, don't you?" There was no need to wait for her reply, the redness of her face told it all. "Heh, you're in love with Kenpachi-taichō!"

"Sh...shut up!" Kiriumi shouted, ignoring the pounding headache she had. "S-so what if I do? There's nothing wrong with having a crush on your taichō! I mean, look at Hinamori-fukutaichō and Aizen-taichō! Hinamori is always all over her taichō."

He grinned down at her. "Ain't nothing wrong with it, it's just funny to think about you and taichō as a couple."

"They wouldn't be that bad a match." The two shinigami turned their attention to the beautiful man standing in the doorway. Yumichika walked into the room, shutting the door behind him, and sat down next to Ikkaku on Kiriumi's futon. "Just think about it. You remain calm over little things while taichō gets frustrated easily, you have a kind and loving nature while taichō is rather violent and wild, you're skilled at cooking and simple everyday things, almost like the perfect housewife, while taichō can barely work an oven. You two complete each other. Not to mention you both love fighting and Yachiru admires you both."

The blush seemed to be permanently spread across her face. "I'm not all that worried about it. It's only a crush, it's really not all that important." Surprisingly her headache was starting to fade already, although she still wished she could stay in bed all day. Flipping the blanket off of her legs she stood up and stretched. "Taichō probably doesn't even think of me that way anyway. Please, guys, don't tell anyone. I'd rather not have a lot of people getting involved with my relationships." Her friends nodded at her, watching at she quickly pulled her hair back into a messy pony-tail. "Well, I've gotta go cook breakfast!"

"But it's already four in the afternoon." Yumichika pointed out.

"Oh fuck!" Kiriumi shouted, running off in the direction of her kitchen. "I guess I'll start on dinner then!"

* * *

Finally...peace and quiet. Or so the eleventh squad captain thought he would have. Kenpachi had been working on some paperwork that was needed for his new fourth seat. Thinking of his new fourth seat...maybe he should keep her away from alcohol. He leaned back in his chair and thought back to their meeting after the party the previous night.

* * *

_Stumbling out of the party, Kiriumi had to use the wall to support herself. It was then that she noticed her captain was outside, drinking by himself and watching the moon. "Kenpachi-taishō! I foun' joo!" She slurred, making her way over to where the her captain was sitting._

_His uncovered eye followed her drunken movements as she tripped over her own two feet and fell into his lap. "What are you doing, Kiriumi?" She giggled up at him, rolling on her back so she could watch the sky. "You've been drinking."_

_"Jus' a lil' bit." The fourth seat mumbled, smiling softly at the sky. "Y'know I thought it'd be harder ta get ober everythin'..." Her eyes were glazed over from the alcohol, but her thoughts seemed fairly sober. "But...shomehow wit joo guys I know I'll be fine..." Placing her hand on his chest, she smiled up at him. "Eshpecially you, taishō..."_

_Kenpachi was about to reply when she leaned up and pressed her lips against his, in a sloppy, drunken kiss. When she pulled away, she lay her head back down in his lap. "...You've had too much to drink, I'll take you back to your room." Completely ignoring any and all protests, the captain picked her up and threw her over his shoulder making his way through the halls, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from his underlings...And the vomit he could feel was on the back of his captains haori and shoes._

* * *

Rolling his eyes, the captain decided to go check on the lightweight shinigami. First stop, Kiriumi's room. To his surprise Kiriumi wasn't in her room, instead Ikkaku and Yumichika were sitting on her bed, talking in hushed voices. "You guys seen Kiriumi?"

They both seemed startled by the sudden appearance of their captain. "Actually she just woke up and left for the kitchen." Yumichika smiled one of his perfectly beautiful, not to mention shiny, smiles.

"You might not wanna go down there, taichō." Ikkaku added. "She's in one of _those_ moods."

Kenpachi eyed them for a moment before shrugging. "I'll take a chance."

* * *

I'm hiding from the destructive, cooking tornado in the kitchen...don't tell her I'm here!

* * *

Loud crashes could be heard from the kitchen as countless squad eleven members hid from their new fourth seat. Everybody knew when Kiriumi was in the kitchen you stay away, but when Kiriumi was in the kitchen and she was in a hurry, you flee for your very life!! Very few, select people actually dared to venture into the kitchen at those times. Yachiru was one of those few.

"Kiri-chan! I'm done stirring the batter, can I eat it yet?!" The pink haired sugar-bomb asked, jumping on the youngest Unohana's shoulder to get her attention.

Chopping vegetables so fast you could barely see her hands, she shook her head. "Not yet, Yachiru-chan. You don't eat the batter like that! You've gotta wait for it to be cooked. If you wanna help out more, can you kneed the dough?"

Jumping over to where the pile of dough sat on a freshly floured counter Yachiru nodded. "I'll be the best kneeder ever!" Smiling fondly at the girl, the fourth seat turned her attention back to the pork grilling on the stove. Just then another person entered the room. "Ken-chan! Look, look! Doesn't it look good, Ken-chan? But Kiri-chan says I shouldn't eat it until it's cooked!"

A flush of embarrassment spread across Kiriumi's face. She never was good at hiding her emotions, but if she didn't look at him maybe he wouldn't be able to tell. "I-is there anything I can do for you, t-taichō?"

His much larger form seemed to loom over hers as he checked to see what she was cooking. "No. I was just checkin' up on you. You don't hold your liquor well."

"Yeah! You're a funny drunk!" Yachiru added, grinning widely. "I think you scared tattoo-face though, he's been hiding out in his room all day long! He didn't even come to breakfast...but you didn't either!"

"I don't drink often, so it should be obvious that I'm not all that good at holding my liquor." The red on her face just seemed to keep getting darker, right about now it even rivaled the red of Renji's hair. "I don't really remember what I did to scare Renji-kun though...actually I don't really remember much of anything last night..." Keeping her face down so her captain wouldn't see the color, she took the bowl of vegetables she had cut up earlier and took them to another stove on the other side of the room and placed them in the boiling water.

"That's too bad." The young girl continued. "Last night was loads of fun!"

Another presence made itself known. "More so for some than for others..."

Glaring harshly at Yumichika, who just smiled sweetly in return, Kiriumi sneered. "I'm quite sure everyone had a decent amount of fun, Yumi-chan." Dammit! She knew he wasn't just going to leave it alone. He always had to stick his perfect little nose into everyone else's business. And now he wasn't going to stop until he had succeeded in either fixing her up with their captain or completely ruining her life...and she really hoped it wasn't the latter.

"No need to hide how much you enjoyed your night, Kiri-chan." Quickly advancing to the other side of the room, the feather faced man gently shoved his friend out of the way. "Here, I'll take care of whatever's on this stove, you go take care of the meat over there."

Gritting her teeth as she glared evilly at him, she muttered out a strained, "Thanks..." before heading back to the oven Kenpachi was standing by. To her surprise, her captain seemed to have it handled. Perhaps he did actually have a hidden talent for cooking...

Just then Ikkaku and Renji waltzed into the room. "Yo! So this is where everyone's at." The bald one grinned, grabbing Renji before he had the chance to flee.

"Perfect!" Kiriumi quickly placed several trays into their hands. "These should be set out for right now, and make sure to disperse the food evenly to all the tables! I've had complaints about others getting more food than the rest. Then I expect you both to come right back, and make sure to bring up several more bags of rice as well as more bottles of sake." The two were trying to sneak out the door already, but she smacked them on their heads with the empty bowl she was still holding. "And if you don't return I'll make sure neither of you get a single scrap of food, or even drink for that matter, from anyone for an entire month!"

The two nodded, knowing that she was not afraid to go through with it either. Turning around, she finally noticed just how well everyone was working together. Yachiru focusing all her energy on the dough, Yumichika keeping an eye on the boiling vegetables as he chopped up more, Ikkaku and Renji carting around the food, and Kenpachi flipping the meat when it seemed well enough grilled. It was almost like some kind of cracked-out, highly dysfunctional family working together like they'd been doing this every day of their lives.

It was...perfect...

* * *

No fair...the closest I've ever gotten to a cracked-out, highly dysfunctional family was when two of my friends came to my cousins place and we all made curry together.

"That's almost like this." Kiriumi grinned.

Yeah, I guess...


	5. Chapter 5

"Ah, another perfect meal!" Kiriumi sighed contentedly, leaning back on the floor.

How come you never make me any food?!

"Because you're a voice inside my head?"

...Damn you...

* * *

In Seireitei, time always seems to move quicker than it should. It only seemed like days ago that Kiriumi was promoted to fourth seat, but in reality it was actually several months ago. In that time Renji had also been promoted to her former rank, sixth seat. Ikkaku's training really had helped him a lot. Also in that time Kenpachi and Kiriumi's late night meetings had become a regular thing. And, even though she'd never admit it, Yumichika constantly pushing them together was actually making their relationship stronger.

"...So Renji was so drunk he passed out after one smack. Then just for the hell of it, we took his money to pay for our meals, took his clothes, and dumped him in an alleyway of the most crowded section of Rukongai." Kiriumi laughed, telling one of her tales from her academy days with Izuru and Renji and Shūhei to her captain. "The best part is we sent the pictures we took to the Shinigami Womens Association for their monthly magazine, and the Seireitei News Magazine! Renji didn't come out of his room for almost three weeks!"

Kenpachi chuckled, looking down at his subordinate. "Heh, sounds like you had some good times in the academy." He mentioned, taking a sip of the sake she had provided for him.

Smiling brightly back at him, she nodded. "Well, with all of the work we had to do, we had to find some way to keep ourselves entertained." Kiriumi lowered her gaze to her tea, a nostalgic smile spread across her lips. Swirling the dark liquid in her cup, she laughed quietly. "You wanna know something weird? When I was back in the academy with everyone, they all seemed to know where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. Shūhei had a fukutaichō spot open for him already, Izuru-kun was so eagar to serve under Ichimaru-san, Renji-kun is still determined to surpass Kuchiki-taichō no matter what. But, somehow, I didn't know where I wanted to go or what I was going to do with myself."

The captain leaned forward, resting his elbows on the small table and staring down at the girl across from him. "So, what? You didn't wanna be part of the eleventh division?"

Blushing brightly, she waved her arms in front of her. "Oh, no! I love being in this division!" Kenpachi grinned, quite amused at how easily embarrassed his fourth seat was. "I really am happy being here. I just didn't know this division was meant for me while I was still in the academy..." She cleared her throat, embarrassment starting to fade. "Honestly, when I first saw that you were the captain, I wasn't as intimidated as the other students were. And it wasn't just because you had Yachiru-chan on your shoulder, if you were wondering."

"You weren't afraid of me? That's surprisin'." Kenpachi mumbled. He had become so accustom to being accused of being a monster, even as a captain. No matter where he went, everyone would cower in fear either because of his tremendous size or his immense reiatsu. The only other who never seemed to fear him was Yachiru. And now Kiriumi? She truly was a strange girl. "You sure it wasn't Yachiru?"

She tittered lightly at him. "I'm positive...It's just something about you that makes you seem so dangerous, but not really threatening. You know?"

"You're not makin' much sense." He replied, shaking his head.

"Well...just, never mind..." The dark haired girl muttered, looking away as a faint red blush tinted her cheeks. She was trying to use her hair to cover her face, but Kenpachi noticed the blush. She really did suck at hiding her emotions. "It's not important anyway..."

A fairly comfortable silence settled over the two of them as both took a sip of their drinks. Kenpachi was the first to break the silence. "....Kiriumi, do you remember the party we had when you became fourth seat?"

Coughing on the tea she had been swallowing, she shook her head. "N-not really..." The red spreading across her face told a different story. In truth, she'd been thinking of the kiss that she shared with her captain quite often. "I don't really remember much from that night..."

"I don't believe you." He bluntly stated.

Getting up to get away from the conversation, Kiriumi mumbled a quick, "I'll go refresh our drinks..." But as soon as she stood up, he was right next to her, holding her wrist to keep her from going anywhere. "T-taichō..."

"You're not gonna run away from this..." He muttered, looking down on her flushed face. "You remember...what you did..."

"Then...it wasn't a dream..." Her dark eyes lowered to the ground. "I-I'm sorry--"

"Che. Don't go apologizin' about it." Releasing her wrist, he moved his hand to her chin and moved it up to face him. "And stop lookin' away all the time. You didn't become part of the eleventh division to be hidin' your face."

Looking up at her captain caused many emotions to stir in her. But the strange feeling she had in her stomach was driving her crazy. She didn't quite know what it was she was feeling, or why she couldn't bring herself to run away again like her mind was telling her to. It was all so confusing. So she did the only thing she ever did when she was this confused...

"What are you...wait...don't cry!" Kenpachi stared down at her tear filled eyes, not quite sure what to do. He had never had to comfort a crying young woman before, and he honestly had no idea what to do. "Why are you cryin'?"

Sniffling lightly, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I-I don't...know...I'm s-s-sorry...taichō..."

That's when the captain did something Kiriumi really didn't expect. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Stop apologizin' about everything. And stop cryin' too, it doesn't fit you..."

Burring her face in his chest, she nodded. "O-okay..." Finally calming down a bit, the young Unohana relaxed in her captains strong grasps. She was still embarrassed about getting so emotional in front of Kenpachi, but she was glad he was there. She smiled at him. "Thanks, taichō..."

"Yeah, don't mention it." He said, looking down at her now smiling face.

Again Kiriumi found her mind wasn't quite in control over her body, as she leaned up to meet her captains lips. The kiss was light and soft, almost unsure at first, but soon it became deeper, more passionate and rough. The large captains hands slowly explored her slim frame, taking in every curve of her well toned form, and eventually resting on her ass. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she safely secured her legs tightly around his waist. His tongue pushed into her eagerly welcoming mouth, feeling every every section of the wet cavern. Roughly knocking the drinks off the table, Kenpachi pushed her down onto the table. Allowing his hands to roam again, he moved his lips downward, biting and sucking on her soft neck.

Just then, the door opened, and three people fell inside.

* * *

"Aw! It was just getting good!!" Kiriumi whined.

Yeah, yeah, we've gotta go back and see whose been peeping on you.

* * *

-A few moments earlier-

"Yumi, what are you and Renji doing?" Ikkaku asked, walking up to his two friends. It was extremely late, and he had just woken up to go to the bathroom when he found Yumichika and Renji peeking into Kiriumi's personal kitchen.

The beautiful man put a finger to his lips. "Shh...Kiri-chan and Kenpachi-taichō are having a moment."

Normally, Ikkaku would have rolled his eyes and went on his way. But if it was something between Kiriumi and Kenpachi it was well worth watching. He leaned in to get a good look into the room where he saw his captain holding their fourth seat in a tight hug. "What happened?" He whispered.

"Shh!" Renji hushed. "A lot of stuff happened. Just watch."

They all continued watching as the two in the room broke apart for a moment, only to come together and start making out. "Hm, finally..." Yumichika whispered proudly to himself.

"What are you guys doing?" Yachiru asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she walked up to them. "Y'know it's not right to peep on people. Ken-chan says people who sneak around are cowards and don't deserve to be called shinigami."

"Shh, Yachiru, we're just trying not to interrupt something." Yumichika said, trying to hush the young girl. But when he moved toward her, he got caught on Renji's robe and tripped, causing the three men to fall into the room.

Yachiru quickly jumped over them and into the room. "Ken-chan and Kiri-chan are together?" She asked, staring at the two of them.

Kenpachi pushed himself off of Kiriumi and stood up. The dark haired girl sat up and stared down at the younger girl. "Y-Yachiru-chan, um...you see--"

"Yay!!" She cheered, jumping on Kiriumi's lap. "Now we are a big family! And you're Ken-chan's woman!!"

Blushing a deep red at her new title, she laughed lightly as Yachiru continued going on about all the good things now that the fourth seat was with the captain. "Alright, Yachiru, I'm glad you're happy about this..." She then turned her attention to the three other eleventh squad members standing around the door. "As for you three..."

Renji and Ikkaku were gone before you could say "castrate". While Yumichika stood around, checking his perfectly manicured nails. "You can't honestly be mad at me. I did help you out by pushing you two together. And how would you repay me?"

"Yeah, yeah...I still don't like you peeping on what I'm doing. So now you can stop pushing your nose into my business."

"Fine, I'll leave you alone for now." Yumichika said, preparing to leave. "Come on, fukutaichō, it's late and you should be asleep."

Yachiru nodded, jumping over to him. "Okay, feather-face! 'Night, Ken-chan! 'Night, Kiri-chan!" She called as they both went off to go to sleep.

Smiling lightly off in their direction, she looked back at the captain standing next to her. "So...where were we...?" She grinned as Kenpachi leaned back down on top of her, picking up where they left off.

* * *

"Finally!!" Kiriumi cheered. "We're a couple now!!"

Yes, but what will people say? How long will things be perfect? When will I actually get a life?! I guess everyone will just have to wait to find out!


	6. Chapter 6

"Ah! I feel great this morning!" Kiriumi grinned, stretching a bit as she sat up in her bed.

Heh...bet you won't be saying that for long...

* * *

Finishing the final touches on breakfast, Kiriumi sighed happily. "Perfect, as usual..." She smiled, setting out the plates of food onto the separate some odd reason, she felt much better than she had in a very long time. It may have been the great night she had last night, (no, she and Kenpachi did not have sex), or the fact that she no longer had to hide her feelings for her captain. Whatever the reason, she was feeling great.

"Yo, Kiriumi!" Renji greeted, walking into the large kitchen she had just finished practically demolishing with her cooking. "So...how was _your_ night last night?"

She smiled widely at him. "Fantastic! In fact, I've been feeling so great this morning that I made everyone an extra large breakfast!"

The red head was a bit taken back by her continuously chipper attitude. Normally she would get embarrassed and start shouting about him teasing her or try to throw something at him, but today not a single thing seemed to bother her. "Are you...okay? You're acting a bit strange..."

"Better than ever!" The young Unohana grinned, skipping over to her good friend. "Everything is great! I hope you don't mind, but could you inform everyone of breakfast being ready? I have a Shinigami Womens Association meeting to attend." Renji nodded, dumbstruck by how sweet she was acting. Giving him a quick hug, she skipped out of the room. "Thanks, Renji-kun!!"

Completely oblivious to the gossiping people around in the other divisions, Kiriumi happily made her way to where the SWA meeting was supposed to be held that day. In her blissful state, she almost didn't notice the two captains she almost ran into. "Oh, excuse me, Kyōraku-taichō, Ukitake-taichō!" She smiled up at them.

"Ah, Kiriumi-chan, congratulations!" Shunsui said, ruffling her hair.

"Thank you, taichō!" She wasn't quite sure what he was congratulating her for, but she decided to just shrug it off and thank him anyway.

Jūshirō pat her on her shoulder. "Yes, congratulations. This should be great for your entire division."

Smiling up at him, she nodded. They must have been talking about her becoming fourth seat, she figured. But that happened quite a while ago... "Thank you so much! I'm glad people are happy with our decision."

The eighth division captain nodded. "Good luck to you and your taichō." He said, flashing her a quick smile as he and Jūshirō walked off.

"Thank you very much!" She called after them, before turning back around and heading for the meeting room. Despite thinking it was a bit strange, the dark haired girl continued cheerfully making her way to the meeting room.

* * *

"Ah, everything's so wonderful today!" Kiriumi smiled, skipping through a random field of flowers.

Oh great, my allergies!! Stupid pollen...

* * *

Rukia was just about to enter the meeting room when she was suddenly yanked into another room. "What the he--" A hand was clamped over her mouth, and she was pulled against someones chest....someone with boobs...

"Rukia-chan! Please hush!" Kiriumi said, letting go of her friend once she calmed down.

"Kiriumi?!" Rukia shouted. "What are you doing?!"

Clamping her hand back over her mouth, the fourth seat hushed her short friend. "Shhh! I just need to ask you something." Letting go of the shorter girls mouth, she stepped back a bit. "Do you know what's happening? Why is everyone congratulating me?! Did I miss something important?"

Staring up at her taller friend in shock, she shook her head. "You don't know..."

"No! Tell me what's the big deal?!"

She held out a magazine to Kiriumi. "Haven't you seen the latest Shinigami Womens Association magazine?"

Quickly snatching it from Rukia's hands, stared in shock at the cover. In big letters across the front it read: NEW HOT COUPLE HITS THE SCENE!! UNOHANA KIRIUMI AND ZARAKI KENPACHI TOGETHER?! "Wh-wh-what...?! How did news get around that quickly!?"

Patting her taller friend on the shoulder, the Kuchiki shook her head. "Kusajishi-fukutaichō had them make hundreds of copies this morning, and news just seems to spread fast...I mean, how long have you two been...you know..."

A dark red flush covered her face. "I'm not even completely sure if we're...you know..." Rukia shot her a confused look. "I mean, we only kissed for the first time last night! And that's when everyone walked in on us!"

The shorter girl had to use a hand to stifle her laugh. "They walked in on you? Who's they?"

"Well...more like fell in the room on accident...It was Renji, Ikka, and Yumi-chan! Then Yachiru-chan walked over them and into the room..." Blushing at the memory of the previous night, Kiriumi shook her head. "It was just an odd night last night!"

"Well...just don't worry about it." Rukia suggested. "Things should die down eventually, and for now you can just be happy about your relationship with your taichō...So, let's just go to the meeting."

Nodding curtly, the two headed over to the room next to the one they were currently in. Kiriumi soon wished she hadn't though...When she walked in she was immediately bombarded with questions. "Is it true?!" Rangiku asked.

"How did you get your taichō to love you back?!" Momo questioned.

Kiyone was right in her face. "Could you teach me how to get my taichō's attention!?"

"How long have you two been hiding your love!?" Rangiku asked again.

"Girls! Girls!! Relax a bit!!" Kiriumi shouted, trying to gain a little breathing room. The girls backed up a bit, but continued to shout out questions. "I'm not....We haven't....I can't.....I've gotta go!!" She immediately shot out through the door and ran as far away from them as she could.

Eventually growing tired of her running, she decided to stop and rest in an empty alley. "Running from your problems...Kiriumi-chan?" Sitting on the roof of the wall behind her was the captain of the third squad, Ichimaru Gin.

"I-Ichimaru-taichō!!" She was so startled, she tripped on her own two feet and fell down on her ass.

Never dropping his large grin, he flash stepped down next to her. "You seem startled...did I frighten you?" Everything about the captain just screamed sarcasm, even the tone of his voice.

She shook her head. "No, taichō, I just wasn't expecting you to appear like that."

Even though his eyes were slitted, she could tell he was scanning her. "Ah, alright then. You're a bit frazzled, ne? Were you running away from something?"

"Not...exactly..." Kiriumi averted her eyes to the ground, trying to hide the blush she still had staining her cheeks. "I'm just trying to avoid anyone who wants to ask about the relationship between my taichō and I."

Gin's grin widened even more, if that was even possible. "Oh yes, I heard about your relationship with Kenpachi...Quite exciting to be the talk of Seireitei, isn't it?"

"A bit. I'm glad everyone wants to congratulate me, but I don't know how to answer all their questions! They all want to know _how I did it_ or _what it's like_ but I don't really know!" She sighed exasperatedly.

"Sounds like you've got your hands full at the moment." He commented, starting to walk away. "Good luck with that...Kiriumi-chan..."

"Thank you, Ichimaru-taichō!" She called after him. Gin never seemed sincere, but she had been taught to be polite and thank people when they said something good to you. Knowing that being out in the open like this might cause more people to bombard her with more questions, Kiriumi decided to go back to where she knew she'd be safe and no one would even want to talk about her relationship with her captain...the eleventh division. Quickly, and discretely, she made her way back to her own division. Surprisingly enough, no one actually stopped her. Well...not until she actually made it to her division.

"So I see you've seen the latest headlines..." Yumichika was sitting off to the side of the path, sipping some tea he had made.

She glared dangerously at him. "Did you have something to do with this, Ayasegawa?"

Batting his eyelashes innocently, he placed a hand to his chest. "Me? Why would you assume I'd play a part in getting the story of your hidden love with the taichō out in the open?"

Already she knew it was him. "You helped Yachiru get the story on the cover of the Shinigami Womens Association magazine!!"

"I may have given her some pictures of the two of you together, and I may have written the article for it...but is it really all that bad? Your beautiful face is on the cover." He was still so calm as he took another sip of tea.

Still glaring at him, she turned off in a huff. "I am so mad at you right now!! You know what? You can make your own damn meal tonight!!" Glancing at him over her shoulder she frowned deeply. "And...I'm going to make those special little strawberry uiro cakes you love so much, but not let you have any!" Running off before he could protest, she quickly closed herself in her personal kitchen and started making anything and everything she could think of.

But, poor Ikkaku didn't realize she was in a bad mood before he entered her small kitchen, and was pulled into being her assistant/helper/monkey.

* * *

"...And I can't believe he actually had the gall to do that! Shouldn't he know, after how long he's actually known me, that I wouldn't like that?! I mean come on!!! And then...." Kiriumi continued yaking the Narrators ear off.

You're supposed to save it for Ikkaku in the next chapter!!

"Oh...riiiiiiight..."


	7. Chapter 7

Shh...I'm hiding from Kiriumi...

"Oh...!! I'm still ready to kill him!!!" Kirirumi shouted, pacing back in forth in a frustrated manner.

* * *

"...I mean, it's not like taichō and I are really even together!! So what? We kissed, big freakin' deal!! It's not like we've ever been on a date or even really done anything as a couple!" Kiriumi was currently busy trying to kill the vegetables she was supposed to be dicing.

Sighing, Ikkaku grumbled something about being higher in rank than her and how he should be commanding her. It was a good thing he was so nice to her. "Yumi just doesn't look at things from all angles. He thinks something will be good and just goes for it, you know that."

Throwing the diced, (if you could call it that), vegetables into the boiling pot, she sighed. "I know that..." A rather miserable look spread across her face for a split second, but the third seat noticed it. "But he's supposed to be the one that understands relationships! And knows most about women. And the one that listens to my feminine problems!"

"And what have I been doing here all afternoon?!" He shouted, throwing the meat into the pot also.

She hugged him from the side, causing a blush to tint his cheeks. "Thank you, Ikka-kun...I do appreciate this..." She kissed him playfully on the cheek. "You're such a big sweet-heart!"

The blush was quite evident as he pushed her away lightly. "Shut up!" She was like his little sister, but whenever she did that to him he always got annoyed. "I might be listenin' to you but I ain't as girly as Yumi!"

Smiling up at him, she bat her eyes innocently. "Of course your not! The only one manlier than you is Kenpachi-taichō!"

"...Yeah, yeah..." Putting the dirty dishes into the sink, Ikkaku wiped off his hands on the towel laying next to it. "Oi, you're gonna have to take care of the rest on your own...I've got stuff to do." He said, quickly heading for the exit.

"Okay, thanks again, Ikka! Be sure to show up on time for lunch so we can enjoy our meal without a certain feather-faced bird-brain there!!" She called after him before turning back to her boiling stew.

* * *

"Where do you think you're going...?" Kiriumi asked the Narrator, who had almost made it to safety.

Umm...Sorry, but for now I get to follow Ikkaku around! Bye!!

* * *

Ikkaku was still grumbling something about Kiriumi being so embarrassing, (or something along those lines), as he left her small kitchen. Just then he ran into his captain. "Sorry, taichō." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

"Is Kiriumi in there?" The large captain asked.

"Yeah, but you don't wanna go in there. She's pissed at Yumi for somethin'." The third seat knew just what she was pissed about, but if his captain didn't know, he didn't want to be the first to tell him.

Kenpachi scoffed. "Che. What'd he do now?"

"I dunno..." He told lies...LIES!! "She was also goin' on 'bout all sorts of girly shit. Y'know, stuff about the Shinigami Womens Association, and she said somethin' 'bout you two never doing things as a couple..."

"What do ya mean? We all eat together and we all fight together." Just more proof that the captain really didn't know anything when it came to women.

"I think she means like a date, taichō. Y'know, just you and her." Ikkaku leaned against the wall of the hallway, knowing that his training schedule for the day was ruined already.

The captain scratched at his eye patch a bit. "So we go out a bar and get something to drink together?"

He shook his head. "No, no, women always want romance." It was even surprising to himself how much he had learned about girls from hanging out with Kiriumi and Yumichika...and he wasn't quite sure he liked it. "Ya gotta take her somewhere special. And fightin' doesn't count, taichō..."

Kenpachi stood back and thought about it for a moment. "...What the hell do I do then?"

"Like hell if I know!" Ikkaku grumbled. "Kiri only talked to Yumi 'bout that..." Aw, damn! Now he knew the day was going to be a pain in the ass...

* * *

"No." Yumichika said, prissily turning his nose in the air.

"Aw, c'mon, Yumi!" Ikkaku pressed. "Why not? What is the big problem with you two?"

A pout graced the feather faced mans features. "I already helped her, and what does she do to repay me? Yells at me, and then refuses to share her food! It was not beautiful. She even said that she was going to make my favorite kind of uiro cakes and not let me have any!" He glanced over at his best friend and his captain for a moment, before taking another sip of tea. "Why should I help someone who's been so ungrateful to me?"

The bald one rolled his eyes. "I'll talk to her alright? And I'll make sure she apologizes too. Can you just help them out?"

"But I still feel emotionally damaged! It's not beautiful." He huffed.

Mentally slapping himself for what he was about to do, the third seat sighed. Kiriumi better be extremely grateful for both of their help. "Fine...I'll let you get whatever you want next time we go shopping..."

Perking up at that offer, Yumichika clapped his hands. "Alright then! Let's get things started..." Glancing back at the captain he grinned, (a rather evil grin, might I add). "We've got quite a lot of work ahead..."

* * *

Placing the seventh set of inari sushi onto a large try, Kiriumi sighed. "Almost done."

But that's when the pink terror herself ran into the room. "Kiri-chan! Kiri-chan! Let's go take a bath!! The bath house is empty!" Yachiru said, pulling the fourth seat along with her.

"But the food--" She was cut off when Renji pat her on the back.

He grinned at her. "Don't worry, I've got it handled!"

The dark haired woman couldn't protest as the little ball of energy pulled her along. As she had said the bath house was empty, not a single soul was on the womans side at least. Stepping out of her clothes, she stepped into the warm water and finally began to relax. Kiriumi was so relaxed that she didn't even notice when Yachiru took her shinigami robes and replaced them with a beautiful yukata. Finally taking notice of the missing vice captain, Kiriumi looked around nervously. "Yachiru-chan? Where'd you go? What happened to my clothes." She called, but the small girl didn't reply. However, several other voices were heard coming into the bath house, Rangiku, Momo, Isane and Kiyone were four recognizable ones. "...Dammit..." She hissed, grabbing the yukata and running to safety.

"There you are!" Ikkaku said, grabbing Kiriumi's arm and pulling her somewhere.

"Ikka! What's going on? Why did someone take my clothes? Where are we going?!" The fourth seat asked him as he dragged her through their division. She was so confused at the moment.

He grumbled something under his breath. "You gotta apologize to Yumi."

"Why should I?!" She demanded, puffing her cheeks up in indignation.

"'Cause, he's just been helpin' you the whole time. He even helped you tonight!"

Stopping right in the middle of the hall, Kiriumi pulled her arm from Ikkaku's grip. "Stop doing that! Why can't you just tell me what's going on? I'm not in the mood for these little games!"

Completely ignoring anything she said, the third seat picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. "Stop fussin'! Just go with it! And apologize to Yumi!"

She pounded a bit on his back, but the bald man could take it. "This is cruel and unusual punishment!"

Finally arriving at their destination, Ikkaku dropped her on her ass. "Now go say your sorry, I know ya wanna."

She tuned around to face Yumichika, but instead came face to feet with her captain. Looking up to his face, she gaped. "Tai...taichō...?!" To her surprise, he too was wearing a yukata, his hair draping naturally over his shouolders. He looked away, seeming a bit embarrassed.

"Surprise." Yumichika smirked, stepping out from behind the large captain.

"Yu-Yumi?" Kiriumi stuttered, staring up at him too. Ikkaku helped her stand up as she continued staring at the fifth seat. "Was this your doing?" He nodded, smiling proudly. She quickly yanked him into a hug. "I'm sorry! I yelled at you, but you still tried to help! Thank you so much!!"

"You're welcome, Kiri-chan." He said, hugging her back. "Have a beautiful night tonight."

Shooting him a confused look, Kenpachi grabbed her hand. "C'mon, let's get goin'."

A light red tinted her cheeks as she finally realized exactly what was going on. Smiling in the direction of her two friends, she mouthed the words, "Thank you."

* * *

"What?! Don't stop now!!" Kiriumi shouted, shaking the Narrator roughly.

Sorry!! I've got work tonight!!! Please stop shaking me!!!

"Whoops, sorry..." She mumbled, letting go of the Narrator.


	8. Chapter 8

You should probably thank your friends again. If they hadn't done all this for you you'd probably still be sitting in your little kitchen grumbling about how annoying Yumichika can be.

"Yeah...I'll thank him after tonight..." Kiriumi replied, obviously caught up in other things.

* * *

"I can't believe I forgot about the Tanabata festival!" Kiriumi sighed, walking through the busy streets of the first district in Rukongai. Many people were celebrating and the streets were quite crowded. There were plenty of food stalls and festival games to be played, but the most captivating was the parade that was running through the streets. All the floats were so well decorated, it was all so wonderful. The captain seemed rather quiet, and almost a bit distant at the moment. "Y'know, taichō, you didn't have to do this..." She mumbled, looking down at her click-clacking wooden geta.

Kenpachi looked down at her. "Enough with the 'taichō'..." He mumbled. "Just call me by my name."

A light flush of embarrassment covered her cheeks. "Oh, right! Sorry, tai...Kenpachi!"

Chuckling lightly at her, he turned his gaze up to the parade. "And it's not like anybody forced me to come..." He grinned cockily down at her, adding, "Not like anybody could..."

She giggled quietly. "I don't doubt that..." Smiling brightly, Kiriumi carefully grabbed her captains hand. She'd definitely have to thank Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Yachiru. "...Kenpachi?" She simply adored the way his name rolled off her tongue.

"What?" He replied, still looking away from her.

"Who's taking care of Yachiru? Wouldn't she want to come tonight also?" The lights, the food, the games, the fireworks to come, it all seemed like somewhere Yachiru would love to be.

"Ikkaku and Yumichika said they'd take her later." The captain mumbled.

Mouthing a silent, "Oh..." Kiriumi turned her attention back to the festivities. The majority of their date was spent just walking around, talking with each other about random things. But there was also the occasional stop for food... "Oh, no! That's not cooked to it's full potential!" Kiriumi scolded the young man serving yakitori. "No, no, no...you can't grill it that much! You have to wait until it's just heating up!"

Kenpachi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. She was quite a woman...especially when it came to cooking. He noticed just how happy she looked when she was in her element. A bright glow was extremely noticeable in her eyes when it came to cooking. The captain continued watching in amusement as his date showed the guy how to cook yakitori properly. "Kiriumi..."

"Yes, Kenpachi?" She asked, looking up at him with her dark, but glowing, eyes.

"Let's go." He said, watching guy in the yakitori stall fiddle nervously with the bamboo skewers he was holding.

She nodded up at him. "Okay!" Walking over to him, she grabbed his arm. Turning back to the young man, she smiled at him. "Please remember what I told you! If you do, then you'll have the best yakitori in the whole festival!" The young man waved back at her as they walked away. "Sorry about that, Kenpachi. I just had to teach that boy how to properly make food. Hopefully it will help him in the future..."

"Yeah..."

Leaning against her captain affectionately, she sighed. "Where are we going now?"

He placed his arm around her shoulders. "Somewhere."

Rolling her eyes, she let him lead her nonetheless. "Kiri-chan! Ken-chan!!" Yachiru called, waving to the two of them from the top of the hill she, Ikkaku and Yumichika were sitting on. "C'mon! It's gonna start soon!!"

"Wha..." Kiriumi decided to just go with it, and not ask any questions. Taking a seat next to Kenpachi on top of the hill, she took notice of how many shinigami were here. All sorts of people from all sorts of different divisions, Renji, Rukia, Izuru, Kaien and Miyako, Kiyone and Sentarō, Jūshirō, Shunsui, Nanao, Tetsuzaemon, Rangiku, Momo and Tōshirō...and many, many more people she didn't recognize.

"Look! Look! It's starting!" The pink vice captain cheered as the bright fireworks began to light up the sky.

This definitely was one of the best days of Kiriumi's life...death...whatever shinigami would call it. All she cared was that she was here, watching beautiful lights in the sky with the ones she loved. Snuggling close to Kenpachi's firm chest, she sighed happily and looked up at him. "Thanks for tonight..."

Wrapping his arms around her protectively and looked down at her. "Yeah..." He said, leaning down and closing the distance between them. His rough lips brushed against her soft, smooth ones in a light, teasing kiss. Pressing closer to him, the fourth seat turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. Letting his hands roam her slim form, his slid his large tongue into her welcoming mouth. Their tongues clashed together in a battle for dominance, which was quickly won by Kenpachi, as her hands searched into his yukata, feeling every inch of his well sculpted chest. Moaning lightly as he squeezed her breast, she ground her hips into his.

"You don't need to see that, fukutaichō." Yumichika said, rather loudly, ruining the moment between Kiriumi and Kenpachi.

"Feather-face! Don't cover my eyes!!" Yachiru whined, pulling at the beautiful hands covering her eyes.

Breaking apart to glare at the fifth seat, the young Unohana rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Yumi-chan..." She muttered, sitting up as her captain did the same. He simply smiled at her in reply.

Resting against his firm chest again, Kiriumi just enjoyed the colourful fireworks lighting up the sky. Not to mention her captains hand inside her yukata rubbing her inner thigh...

* * *

Nope, no sex yet...

"Dammit!!!" Kiriumi cursed.

* * *

The next day, Kiriumi happily receded back to her kitchen to bake alone. Of course the words 'happily' and 'alone' never really fit all that well together in the eleventh division. "Yo! Kiri, this is where you've been!" Ikkaku grinned, bursting into the small kitchen and startling the poor fourth seat.

"What ever happened to knocking?!" She snapped, wiping up the tea she accidentally spilled.

He waved it off and sat down next to her. "Yeah, yeah, sorry 'bout that."

Rolling her eyes at his insincere apology, she got up to pour him some tea. "Is anything wrong? You're normally training hard about this time..."

Taking the cup from his friend, the bald man shrugged. "Nothin' wrong with stoppin' a bit early. I just came to see how you enjoyed last night..." He grinned at her, raising an eyebrow in question. "Did ya have fun with, taichō?"

Blushing a light shade of red, she looked away. "Yes, I enjoyed my night thoroughly, thank you very much. And yes, I did have plenty of fun with Kenpachi last night, although not what you're insinuating..."

"Good..." Ikkaku mumbled, looking down at her. "...So, was it better your first festival?"

She smiled at him. "You mean the one with you and Yumi-chan? ...Honestly, yes. But only because I got to have everybody here this time." Winking playfully at him, she grinned. "Don't worry, I'll always save a special place in my memories for my first festival. Just like I'll save a place for my first festival with all my friends together. It's all very special to me..."

"It's good to hear that." Yumichika said, entering the small kitchen.

Kiriumi got up to get him a cup of tea as well. "Yumi-chan...thank you again!" She smiled, placing the tea on the table in front of him and giving him a quick hug. "Everything you do for me is so wonderful!"

He smiled a sparkly smile at her. "It's no problem, Kiri-chan. I knew all my beautiful guidance would help."

Ikkaku rolled his eyes. "Che. You guys are gonna get all girly aren't ya?"

"Well..." The beautiful fifth seat started, glancing up at his dear friend slyly. "Since you're speaking of 'girly' things, you did promise to buy me something next time we go out shopping..."

"Aw!" Kiriumi whined, looking up at him with big, sad eyes. "What about me, Ikka? You're not going to buy me anything?"

Said man looked just about ready to jump out the nearest window. "Stop with that look, Kiri..." Ignoring his request, her bottom lip quivered slightly. Knowing he couldn't resist her expression, he sighed. "...Fine..."

"Thanks, Ikka-kun!" She smiled widely, hugging him from the side. The fourth and fifth seat each smiled excitedly and then began talking about 'beautiful' things they'd like to buy.

He smiled lightly at the two of them. His best friends were both extremely girly; one was obsessed with beauty, and the other with cooking. They both could be a bit bitchy at times, and both also loved to use their emotions against him. And, honestly, he was happy with them as they were. "Ikka, would you please take us shopping today?" Yumichika asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Please, please?" Kiriumi added childishly.

"...Yeah, why not?" Ikkaku said, shrugging as he got up with them. They both cheered happily as they each grabbed his arm to drag him along with them.

* * *

He was definitely happy with them as they were.

Aww, friendly fluffiness! Perfect with the song I'm listening to. (Going Home from the Bleach OST.)

"Of course! And more love to Ikka-kun and Yumi-chan..." Kiriumi smiled, leaning back and enjoying the music.

Yeah...well, more stuff to come soon enough!


	9. Chapter 9

"Narrator-chan! You're finally well again!!!" Kiriumi cheered, hugging the Narrator tightly.

Yup! My hand feels great now!! The fourth division is full of miracle workers...But, I'm definitely gonna make you cook my ramen for me from now on...

She nodded enthusiastically. "I'll gladly cook all of your meals so you don't hurt yourself!"

Thank you very much, Kiri-chan!

* * *

"Wah! It looks so pretty!!" Yachiru squealed, looking at the cake Kiriumi had just frosted and topped with fresh strawberries. She was just about to jump at it when the chef held her back. "Ne, Kiri-chan, can I please please have a bite of it? Just a bite?"

The black haired shinigami shook her head. "No, Yachiru-chan, this is Renji's congratulations cake. He's no longer our little sixth seat...He's moving up again..." Even though they were peers, she couldn't help but feel a sense of motherly pride over the red head becoming a vice captain.

The smaller one frowned. "I'm sure tattoo-face won't mind if I test it out first!"

Moving the cake out of her lieutenant's sights, Kiriumi pulled out a smaller piece of cake with one small strawberry on top. "Hmm...I figured you'd be this excited about the cake, so I was prepared this time!"

"YAY!!" Yachiru cheered, jumping at her underling and snatching the sugary treat from her grasps. Swallowing it whole, she grinned a frosting covered grin at the taller shinigami. "That was great! I want more!!"

Smiling softly and wiping away the frosting on the young girls face, the fourth seat sighed. "I'm glad you like it, but you'll just have to wait until the party tonight. We have to make sure his party is perfect to help him forget that Rukia-chan can't be there..."

Yachiru pouted for a moment, but then thought about what she had said. "I thought tattoo-face and no-boobies weren't friends anymore?"

"Yeah right..." She scoffed. "Renji's just being an idiot and acting like they're in two separate worlds now that she's a Kuchiki. And Rukia-chan's being just as idiotic and not talking with him either."

The pink little demon--I mean, shinigami smiled devilishly and started sneaking closer to the cake on the counter behind Kiriumi. "That's stupid. If they like each other shouldn't they talk to each other?"

"Well, things are more complicated than that. Sometimes when a man and a woman _really_ like each other, they do things that don't really make sense." She said, grabbing the smaller girl before she could dive into the cake.

"You mean like the eel and the cave?" She asked.

Kiriumi stared down at her strangely. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, one time biggest-boobies and glasses-girl were talking to each other about some guy's eel coming to visit one of their caves and then when I asked them what they were talking about biggest-boobies told me that she'd tell me when I was bigger! What did she mean, Kiri-chan?" Yachiru questioned, pulling at the taller shinigami's hakama to get her attention.

Blushing a deep red shade, the fourth seat shook her head. "That's...um...not something that you really...it's just a...you don't need to...it's something that's only for _very_ special friends..."

The lieutenant smiled. "You mean like you and feather-face?"

"No, not Yumi-chan--"

"Baldy?"

"Ikka?! I don't--"

"Ken-chan?"

Blushing even deeper, Kiriumi nodded. "Yes, like me and Ken-chan."

"Oh..." Yachiru placed her hand to her cheek thoughtfully. "Has Ken-chan's eel visited your cave yet?"

At that moment the fourth seat noticed a rather disturbed looking Ikkaku stood in the door way. "I don't wanna know..." He said, turning around and walking away.

Though it almost seemed impossible, the young Unohana's cheeks blushed an even darker red. "No, Yachiru-chan...Ken-chan and I haven't had his eel meet my cave...And please don't ask anyone else about their eel or cave, alright?"

"Okay, Kiri-chan!" The small girl grinned.

Placing some plates of food onto a tray, Kiriumi decided to start setting up for Renji's party. "Yachiru-chan, can you do me a favor? I need you to go get everyone but Renji and bring them to where we're gonna have the party."

She jumped up. "Okay! I'll get everybody for the party!! Then can I eat the cake?"

"Only after everybody's at the party and Renji's had a slice of his cake." Smiling as her young lieutenant shot off and out of the room, she placed more food onto the large tray. After fitting all the food for the party onto one tray she carefully, and slowly, brought the food to the party room. Setting it out on the table, she walked back out into the hallway. Flash stepping away to where she felt his reiatsu, she noticed a spiky patch of red on the roof of one of the courtyard walls. "What are you doing up here, Renji?"

Not even twitching at his friend suddenly appearing next to him, Renji looked up at the stars. "Nothing really. Just thinking..."

The dark haired girl sat down next to him. "About?"

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the roof. "A lot of stuff..."

"And what does that stuff include?" Kiriumi asked, laying her chin comfortably on his stomach and staring up at the red head.

His hand rested on her hair, absentmindedly playing with a few strands. "This division, my new division, Rukia, Kuchiki-taichō, you, Ikkaku...I've got a lot of stuff to think about."

"Hmm..." She hummed, fiddling with the edge of his sleeve. "That's understandable...you're moving up so you should have a bit on your mind." She smiled, lifting her head up to look down at him. "But don't be stressed over it!" She stood up carefully and offered her hand to him. "C'mon, I know exactly what will take your mind off of your responsibility..."

Sighing lightly, he decided to just go with it. Taking her hand, he let her lead him to one of the biggest rooms in the whole division. "...What are we doing here?"

She grinned to herself. "You'll see..."

"SURPRISE!!!" Renji would have yanked out Zabimaru if Kiriumi didn't have a firm grip on his hand. Everyone from the eleventh division was there, and a lot of others from other divisions too.

Giving his hand a friendly squeeze, she smiled up at him. "Surprise."

Smiling down at her embarrassedly he rubbed her hair lightly. "Yeah, thanks, Kiri."

"Now c'mon! Let's get this party started!" She cheered, dragging him over to the cake.

The night was full of good food, lots of drinking, merry chatting, and plenty of blackmail options. And yet, the dark haired fourth seat found her feet leading her away from all of the nights festivities and to the solitude of her own kitchen again. She didn't quite know why she left, but she did know that being away from all of that made the pain her heart subside just a bit. "I knew that he was meant to move on to bigger things...so why do I feel so miserable now that he finally is...?" Kiriumi questioned to no one in particular, tears forming in her eyes.

A strong pair of arms pulled her into a firm chest. "It ain't like he's gonna be gone forever. He's been still gonna be part of the eleventh division inside, and he's not gettin' rid of that ever."

"...Taichō..." She mumbled, burying her face in his chest. Why did she always seem so weak around her captain? But, embarrassment aside, she knew he was right. Renji had been branded by the eleventh division, and it's not like he'd be forgetting that anytime soon. Sniffling softly, she pushed herself away from his comforting chest. "S-sorry, taichō...It's just hard to imagine Renji as anything but the little punk sixth seat of our division. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud, but at the same time I'm worried terribly about him...and he hasn't even left yet!"

Kenpachi snorted slightly. "Che. You sound like his mother..."

She laughed a bit, wiping some tears from her eyes. "Y'know, at times it almost felt like I was..."

Looking down at her, grinned a bit. "Even if he is the sixth division fukutaichō s'not like he'll need you any less than when he was a sixth seat."

"...Yeah, you're right." Kiriumi smiled lightly up at him, tears completely dried. She felt much better. "Thanks, taichō."

"Yeah, don't mention it...And stop with the fuckin' 'taichō' all the time..." The large captain brushed some stray strands of hair behind her ear.

She didn't know why but she still liked calling him captain, maybe it was just a habit thing, but she knew she'd need to work on calling him by his name. Nodding slightly, she smiled devilishly to herself as she leaned up, placing light, teasing kisses along his jaw-line. "You're _so_ right...I'm sorry..._Kenpachi_..." She purred in a sultry voice, nibbling softly on his ear.

As if they had a mind of their own, his hands began moving, feeling every curve her perfectly toned body. And in one swift motion, he had his young fourth seat pinned down on the small table as he bit down roughly on the soft, sensitive skin on her neck.

* * *

"Damn you for stopping again!!" Kiriumi sighed frustratedly.

Don't worry, your porn will come soon enough.

"Alright!" She cheered, hugging the Narrator tightly.

Yup, so just relax a bit...your time will come....hahaha...come...


	10. Chapter 10

Ah! Being confused really, _really_ sucks...

Kiriumi shook her head, sighing softly. "You'll figure things out on your own time, just don't stress over it."

You're right...I'll try not to bite too many peoples heads off...

* * *

It had been a surprisingly slow day in the eleventh division, (which barely ever happened), and Kiriumi was making sure to take in every moment of it. No one had destroyed any of her precious creations, she had gotten in some great private training earlier that morning, and she even had a nice lunch with Kenpachi...just the two of them...with no distractions...well, until Yachiru ran in and stole their dessert. But they got their own special dessert, if you know what I mean...Ahem, anyway...She was currently taking a nice walk through some of the divisions. It wasn't too late, but the moon was already high in the sky, making all of Soul Society glow a serene blue color. Which was actually rather refreshing to the fourth seat. In fact, she was so distracted by it's beauty that she didn't even notice the poor academy boy she ended up running into.

"Ah, sorry! I'm so sorry!!" He said, forgetting the papers he dropped and bowing to her. "I-I didn't look where I was going! It's my fault, please forgive me!!"

Taking a close look at the boy, Kiriumi tried to figure out where she knew him from. "Don't worry!" She reassured him, picking up some of his dropped papers. "I'm not hurt, in fact, you were the one who fell down. I should apologize to you!"

The boy flushed a deep red color and rushed to pick up the papers. "N-no, you're not at all to blame, Unohana-senpai!!" She leaned down to help him collect the papers he had dropped.

"...Oh! Now I remember!" She accidentally shouted out loud upon realizing who the boy was.

"E-excuse me?" He seemed a bit startled by her sudden outburst.

"Oh, sorry about that..." The fourth seat laughed a bit, handing the papers over to him. "I just remembered where I knew you from. You're the boy from the yakitori stand at the festival last year, right?"

His blush seemed to get even deeper. "Yeah...I'm surprised you remembered..."

"I've got a great memory." She grinned, scratching the back of her head. "Although, I'm afraid I don't recall your name..."

Standing up he bowed respectfully to her. "Akino Daisuke."

Kiriumi smiled brightly at him. "Well, Akino-kun, I hope you do well in the academy."

But before she could walk away, he was calling to her again. "Senpai, please excuse me for bothering you, but..." He bowed respectfully again. "Please teach me more...about the art of cooking...!"

Blinking stupidly for a moment, she stared down at him. "...Wha..?"

"I...I want to learn more about what you have to teach! After you helped me that night all my food was amazing! I knew that it never would have happened if you hadn't helped me...so I want to know more! I even joined the academy so I could see you again and ask for your help!" He looked up at her with wide, hopeful blue eyes. "Please help me, Senpai!"

"Akino-kun..." Sighing lightly, she smiled softly at him. "...alright, why not?"

Daisuke's face lit up. "R-really?! Thank you so much!!"

The fourth seat ruffled his hair. "You're welcome. Just come to the eleventh division early Saturday morning and I'll teach you some things."

"E-eleventh...division...?" He almost seemed to choke on his words, obviously afraid of the intimidating nature of the eleventh division.

"Don't worry about it, I won't let them push you around. Either way, Kenpachi-taichō always drills our squad on Saturdays...Well, everyone but Ikka, Yumi, Yachiru and I, but we already do enough with our training. So if you come then, you won't have to worry about anyone harassing you...Well, unless you run into Ikkaku, then just holler for me and I'll help you out! Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to my division. I'll see you later."

He waved to her as she walked away, while his academy friends ran to catch up with him. "Wow, that was Unohana Kiriumi of the eleventh division!!" One of the girls, a small blond one, mentioned, blushing lightly. "She's so cool! I didn't know you knew her Akino-kun!"

"Yeah..." A darker haired boy whistled. "Pretty hot, huh?"

The blond stepped on his foot harshly. "Mitsuo!! Don't speak about her so disrespectfully!! Unohana-sama's so amazing!! She's one of the only female members of the eleventh division, the only other being the young fukutaichō, Kusajishi Yachiru..." She stopped and blushed a bit. "Although, I do agree, she is very beautiful..."

A taller female brunette tapped the small blond on the head. "You know, Chiyoko-chan, she's one of the few shinigami to actually maintain a romantic relationship with her captain."

Chiyoko sighed. "Yeah, Shiori-chan, I know...It's great that Unohana-sama's so happy with her taichō, though."

"Sh-she's dating her taichō?!" Daisuke exclaimed, red becoming more apparent on his cheeks. "How long has this been going on, Ameyama-san?"

"Hmm..." Shiori placed her hand to her chin in a thoughtful manner. "I dunno, from what I've heard it started some time last summer...but I'm not completely sure."

"Got the hots for her, Akino?" Mitsuo grinned, elbowing his fellow academy student in the side.

"You like her too?!" The blonde stared up at him suspiciously. "What exactly were you talking to her about anyway?"

His dark, blue tinted hair covered his face. "She just agreed to help me increase my cooking skills. It's nothing..."

"Lucky!!" Chiyoko pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I want to have special cooking lessons with Unohana-sama!!"

Mitsuo stared at her blankly. "But you don't even like cooking..."

Quickly pulling him into a headlock, she pulled tightly around his neck. "Shut up!! If it was with Unohana-sama I'd gladly practice cooking until my fingers bled!"

Shaking his head at his friends stupid arguments, Daisuke stared off in the direction the eleventh division's fourth seat had walked off in. "I hope to get closer to her if I can..." He silently mused.

* * *

"Yay!! Kiri-chan is back!!" Yachiru cheered, jumping onto Kiriumi's shoulder as she entered the small courtyard her lieutenant had been running around as Yumichika sat to the side and watched her.

She smiled at the pink haired shinigami on her shoulder. "Yup, having fun with Yumi-chan?"

The small girl frowned. "Feather-face is being boring!! Will you play with me?"

Yumichika cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. "I just got my hair into this beautiful perfection, I wouldn't want to mar it by playing your rough games, Fukutaichō..."

Shaking her head softly, the fourth seat sighed. "I'm sorry Yachiru-chan, I know how prissy Yumi-chan can be, but I'm afraid I have some things to see to tonight. But if you ask me tomorrow after I finish making breakfast for everyone I'll gladly play some games with you."

A wide smile spread across the vice captain's face as she jumped off the darker haired girl's shoulder. "'Kay, I'll get you then, Kiri-chan!"

"Alright, I look forward to it!" Kiriumi smiled, going off to her small kitchen to prepare something to teach Daisuke when he came for his lesson on Saturday. Staring at the mess of what once was a kitchen, she looked at the note written on the small table in what appeared to be some sort of collaboration of sauces and things.

_Thanks for letting me use the kitchen, Kiri-chan! It was fun!_

_Love, Yachiru._

_P.S. The whole mess is baldy's fault._

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. It was definitely going to be a long night.

* * *

After several long hours of tedious cleaning, Kiriumi finally sat down to relax with a cup of her specialty tea. The sound of the door opening brought her out of her thoughts as she turned to face her captain. "Good evening, Kenpachi." She smiled sweetly at him.

His face, however, remained stoic. "You never went to sleep last night."

"Wha...?" She was a bit confused at what he was getting at.

Kenpachi seemed to loom over her as he stared her down. "You're always still awake when I leave you, and always awake before me in the morning. When do you actually sleep?"

The fourth seat flushed slightly at her captain's firm stare, fiddling lightly with the near empty cup in her hands. "Uh...um...well, I just...it's not always quite necessary when I have my special tea...W-wait! What are you--?!"

Quickly, he lift his underling up and tossed her over his shoulder. "That ain't healthy...You don't need any creepy tea to keep you up all night. So I'm gonna make sure you get a full night's sleep tonight..." He closed the door to her small kitchen and made his way down the hall.

"B-but, Kenpachi-taichō!! Please, I'm perfectly fine!" She insisted, trying her hardest to wriggle her way out of his strong grasps. "I swear, I'll get some sleep tomorrow!! But I'm not even tired!!"

He grinned widely, glancing at her as he opened the door to his own bedroom. "Then I'll take care of that..."

* * *

Kiriumi's face blushed bright red. "Does that mean...?"

Yup, next chapter will be a ".5" chapter! Ain't that exciting? ...Yeah, how 'bout waiting for the next part before ya start doin' that?

"Oh, riiiiiiight..." Kiriumi mumbled, pulling her shirt back on.


	11. Chapter 10 and a half

"Uwah!! It's so exciting!!" Kiriumi cheered, flushing a bit.

Yup, your finally gonna get some!

"Then get on with it!!" She said, shaking the Narrator lightly.

* * *

(Just a little recap.)

"B-but, Kenpachi-taichō!! Please, I'm perfectly fine!" She insisted, trying her hardest to wriggle her way out of his strong grasps. "I swear, I'll get some sleep tomorrow!! But I'm not even tired!!"

He grinned widely, glancing at her as he opened the door to his own bedroom. "Then I'll take care of that..."

Being carelessly dropped onto the bed, Kiriumi glared up at her captain for a moment. But he didn't seem to care, he just grinned down at her, lustfully licking his dry lips as he quickly shed his captain's haori. A heated look flashed across her own face as she began clumsily fumbling with her robes trying to rid herself of the offending clothing. "Dammit..." The fourth seat muttered, failing to untie her sash.

Two large hands pushed hers out of the way and pulled it off swiftly, tearing it slightly. Kenpachi threw the torn material to the ground and pulled off her top, exposing her chest to the cool air and causing her nipples to perk up. She reached up and grabbed his shirt, pulling her captain down into a coarse, passionate kiss. The eleventh division captain quickly dominated his underling, pressing her down to the bed as his hands roamed her perfect form. The sensual feeling of his calloused hands rubbing and kneading her soft breasts caused an odd feeling to spread through her body. Her moan was stifled by her captains lips smothering hers in their rough, demanding kiss. Everything seemed to be going so quickly, it was almost to much for Kiriumi to think about. Which is why she decided to just stop thinking about anything and just let instinct take over.

Running her fingers through his smooth, not spiked, hair, she opened her mouth to allow his tongue entrance. Everything about him was so damn huge, she didn't even want to think about how large his cock would be...Their tongues seemed to move together in perfect harmony as Kenpachi effortlessly pulled off the rest of her uniform, leaving her completely exposed. Pulling back from their kiss, he took a moment to take in her naked form. A large grin spread across his features as she smirked up at him, running her hands across her nude form in a sensual manner. "Like what you see...?"

Quickly yanking off his own top, he went back to roughly kissing down her neck. More moans escaped her lips as her captain bit down on her sensitive neck, drawing blood which he quickly lapped up. Kiriumi, feeling more bold, slid her slender hand down her lover's hakama, taking hold of his erect member and ghosting her fingers along the warm shaft. "Fuck..." He mumbled, squeezing her breasts harshly as she continued teasing his cock with her icy cold fingers. She leaned up placing light, playful kisses along his neck and chest, and using her free hand to slide off his hakama and reveal his throbbing member.

"Oh shit...that's not going to fit..." She thought to herself, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat now that she saw his fully erect member. Releasing her breasts Kenpachi hovered over her, looking down at her frightened expression.

He ran his hand along her body, starting at the neck, feeling the dip of her collar bone, the soft skin between her breasts, tracing her nicely toned abs, over her stomach and lower. Until his finger was down along her lower region, rubbing her clit. "Don't worry..." He breathed huskily in her ear, running his tongue along her the shell of it. "I'll make it easier for you..."

A confused look spread across her face before he plunged two fingers, deep into her warmth. A loud moan escaped her lips as she raised her hips slightly. It wasn't like this was her first time having sex, in fact she'd had sex with two other men prior to this encounter. Though it had been a while, and she'd forgotten just how wonderful it could feel. Kenpachi's lips found her breast as his free hand found their way back to her other. Another noisy moan rang through the air as the large captain pulled out the two fingers and slammed them back into her. Rocking her hips into his hand, Kiriumi roughly dug her fingernails into his back, leaving ten lines of blood dripping down his already scarred back.

Picking up the pace again, he slid a third finger in along with the other two as he harshly bit down on her tender nipple. "Ah! Fuck!!" She cried out, gripping his shoulders forcibly and biting down on her lower lip.

Running his tongue along her chest and up to her neck again, he pulled out his three fingers and positioned himself in front of her entrance. "Ready?"

"R-ready..." She mumbled, trying her hardest to relax her vaginal muscles. Slowly and carefully he began inserting his member into her tight warmth, holding himself back from just slamming into her.

"You okay?" He questioned, nipping at her earlobe.

An awkward groan was her reply. It had been so long since she'd had anyone inside of her, and she'd never ever had anyone as large as Kenpachi inside of her. Upon feeling adjusted, Kiriumi thrust her hips up to fully sheath him in her warmth. "I'm...I'm good..."

He nodded, pulling almost fully out and sliding himself back in, earning another loud moan from woman beneath him. The feeling of her walls contracting and expanding around his cock sent pleasure shooting through his body. The fourth seat's body was overflowing with intense sensations of pleasure with every thrust, finally having adjusted to the size of her captain.

Biting down on her captains shoulder to stifle her increasingly loud moans she actually ended up drawing more blood, which mixed with her own bleeding lip and just added more to the elated feeling spreading throughout her body. "Ke-Ken...pachi!!" She cried out, falling back against the firm bed as he continued pounding into her extremely tight warmth. Blood and sweat mixed together as tiny droplets of both slid down her perfect, smooth skin, eventually falling onto the bed and leaving small red stains on the white sheets. Her face was contorted in pleasure, her hands were pressing against the bed and her nails were digging deeply into her palms, allowing more blood to drip onto the formerly white sheets, and her body rocked into his thrusts. At the moment, Kenpachi thought she couldn't anymore perfect.

Her cries were becoming louder and more desperate, she knew she wouldn't last much longer, her climax was coming. He also knew, her muscles were tightening around his cock and pulling him closer to his own climax. The guttural groans escaping his lips were just enough to send Kiriumi over the edge. She screamed out in pleasure, all of her muscles clenching tightly as she felt that euphoric high that could only be described as a climax. Kenpachi, on the other hand, still had yet to reach that high.

The insane pleasure coursing through her body slowly faded as a foreign, and quite painful, sensitivity coursed through her instead. Attempting to hold back her cries, she felt tears stinging at her eyes, making her uneasiness painfully obvious. The large captain took note of this, feeling odd about causing her pain. It was strange to him; he always loved causing people pain, and feeling pain in return. It gave him some odd sort of high that could only be just barely matched by the ecstatic high of an orgasm. And sometimes even that fell short.

Grunting uncomfortably, he pulled his still painfully erect member out of her tight warmth. She looked up at him through her still tear stained eyes, watching as he placed his large hand around the equally large cock and began pumping it roughly.

Despite the wave of exhaustion that washed over her as she sat up, Kiriumi was determined to help him finish it. She climbed down off the bed, kneeling in front of her captain. Gently pushing his rough, calloused hand out of the way, she licked nervously at her bloody, but still soft lips. Kenpachi eyed her carefully as she flicked out her tongue to tease the tip of his pulsating cock. A groan vibrated through his throat as she swirled her tongue around the tip of it, sliding the moist tongue through the slit. His hands unconsciously found their way to her hair, directing her head to take in more of his member.

She took extra care to relax her throat as she took the large member deep into her mouth and throat. After taking it as deep into her mouth as she could, to the point where she began to feel like she was like almost choking on it, and slowly pulled out, earning another groan from her lover. Swirling her tongue around the tip once again, her hand snaked her way up to roughly massage his balls. She relaxed her throat once more allowing his member to fit more comfortably into her mouth, making sure to scrape her teeth lightly on the shaft.

Pulling roughly at her hair, Kenpachi groaned in pleasure. Taking note at his pleased reaction, she scraped her teeth gently along the shaft again as she pulled back. Finally getting into her groove, she continued the process of swirling her tongue along the head of his cock as she pulled back, scraping her teeth along the shaft as she took him in again, pulling back and doing it all again.

Squeezing roughly on his sack, she rubbed the warm flesh with her surprisingly cool fingers as her head bobbed up and down, faster and faster. The large man grunted, no longer able hold back, and thrust his hips, causing her to gag on his large member. Small tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she pulled back on the cock she had been gagging on. She groaned a bit, the vibrations in her throat causing extra pleasure for her captain thrust his hips up again.

He could feel himself getting closer to the edge as her surprisingly experienced tongue swirled around the tip and her hand kneaded at the soft ball sack. Damn...he had to admit, she was good. Thinking about it, someone this good had to have experience, and he couldn't help but wonder who else she had been with. She sucked on his cock, playing with his balls again. Though, at the moment, he really didn't care.

With one last scrape of her teeth and squeeze of her hand, Kenpachi found himself over the edge. And with another deep groan he shot his hot, sticky seed into her awaiting mouth. She made sure to swallow all the salty seed, even licking away the bit that had began to dribble out of the corner of her mouth. "Delicious..." She purred, smirking up at her captain.

"I bet..." He smirked right back, pulling her up onto the bed and under the sheet with him, so they could finally relax. She happily snuggled close to him as he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

Kissing him lightly on his firm chest, Kiriumi smiled. "Good night, Kenpachi..."

Kenpachi listened to her as her breathing slowed to an even pace, as he stared up thoughtfully at the ceiling. "G'night...Kiriumi..."

* * *

"Ah!! I'm so happy!!" Kiriumi sighed dreamily.

Yep, I hope I'm getting better at the whole 'p0rn scene' thing...

"I was great..." She grinned, giving the Narrator the thumbs up sign. "Good job!"

Why thank you.


	12. Chapter 11

I didn't know she was really that tired...

Kiriumi snored loudly as she was hit by the closest item to the Narrator, which happened to be a cell phone. "No...I like biscuits..." She mumbled, rolling over on her side and curling up in a ball.

...No comment...'cept that I like biscuits too....

* * *

An unwanted light shone brightly into the large room, causing the dark haired girl to twitch lightly. Despite the annoying light awaking Kiriumi from her pleasant dreams, she was feeling extremely rejuvenated and comforted by the wonderfully soft blanket draped over her. Though something did feel a bit odd...She cracked an eye open and noticed the she was alone in the extremely large bed. "Kenpachi..." She sighed happily, stretching as she thought about their previous nights activities.

"I'm assuming you enjoyed yourself last night..." A smooth smirk graced his features as the beautiful fifth seat entered the large room. "And considering how loud you were moaning was enough to wake me up and ruin my beauty sleep, I'd say you owed me an apology."

"Y-you heard me?!" A very deep red flushed across the fourth seat's face.

Yumichika nodded, checking over his nails with a light pout. "Along with the rest of the division. You were even louder than befo--"

"Don't even bring that up!" She sighed, leaning back against the pillows. "This is so embarrassing...You don't think Yachiru heard, do you? I really don't want her going around and telling everyone about what she heard..."

Shrugging lightly, he walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to her, handing her a clean uniform along with one of her extra aprons. "I don't think she woke up, but I guess you'll find out when you pick up the next copy of the Shinigami Womans Association's monthly magazine...Either way, I thought you'd like some fresh clothes so you wouldn't need to go around in your uniform from yesterday."

She looked down at the clothes in her hands and smiled at him. "Thanks, Yumi-chan."

"Don't mention it." He said, waving his hand in her direction. Gracefully rising to his feet, Yumichika smiled briefly at her as he headed for the door. "You can show your thanks by starting on breakfast, it's a bit late today..."

"Aw, fuck!!" She mumbled, racing to get herself dressed. In a flash she was out of the room and racing down the hall to the large kitchen where she could get most of her work done. Not even stopping to apologize when she trampled several of the lower seated members.

* * *

"Kiri-chan! Kiri-chan! Are you going to play with me today, like you promised?" Yachiru bound into the kitchen, jumping up on the frazzled cook's shoulder and, without meaning to, shouting into her ear.

Rushing over to turn off of the pot of rice before it burned, she ignored the deafness she was now feeling. "Yeah, 'Chiru-chan." Kiriumi mumbled, going back to chopping up some fresh strawberries to go with the meal. "I'll play with you after I finish breakfast."

She stared up at her with large innocent eyes. "Why are you making breakfast now? You're normally done with it by now!"

"I know, I know. Sorry, hun, but I was...up a bit late last night..." The dark haired girl muttered, looking away from the child. She was still a bit worried that the young shinigami might have heard the activities between her and her captain the previous night.

"Oh yeah...I heard you and Ken-chan making a lot of noises last night..." The fourth seat nearly dropped the plate of red bean filled buns she'd been carrying. "Were you two fighting or something?"

"S-sure..." Kiriumi said, trying her hardest to prevent her blush from becoming more noticeable.

A pout appeared on the small lieutenant's features. "But, Ken-chan never fights without letting me watch!"

Setting the food out so some of the lower seats could just take it, she scratched uncomfortably at the back of her head. "W-well...Kenpachi and I...we-we weren't really _fighting_ per say, but we were just...playing..."

Yachiru frowned a bit more. "Then why didn't you see if I wanted to play too?"

The fourth seat washed her hands of the messy sauces on her hands, sighing softly. "We thought you were asleep..."

"But--"

"You wouldn't have wanted to play anyway..." Ikkaku muttered, stomping into the room, obviously in a foul mood. "They're just stupid adult games..."

Placing another plate of food out on the counter, she eyed Ikkaku a bit. "What crawled up your ass, Ikka-kun?"

His gaze was surprisingly harsh as he looked eye to eye with the fourth seat. "Nothing, alright?! I'm perfectly fucking fine!"

It was a bit unnerving to have him look at her like that, let alone yell at her. The shock must have been apparent on her face as the fierce third seat averted his gaze from her. "Wh-what's wrong with you, Ikka-kun? You...you never yell at me like that..."

"Stupid, baldy!" Yachiru shouted at him, jumping off of Kiriumi's shoulder and standing in front of her. "You hurt Kiri-chan's feelings, now say you're sorry!"

He stared at his lieutenant for a moment before muttering a, "Che...," and leaving the large kitchen.

Her eyes lingered on the spot he'd previously been standing. In the many years she'd known Ikkaku he'd never once even used a foul tone with her, unless they were fooling around. But when looked at her with those eyes, it almost scared her. "Kiri-chan? Are you okay?" Yachiru asked, jumping back onto her shoulder.

A light shake of her head was all she could really do. "I've never seen him like that...At least not to me..."

"Kiri-chan...?"

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, placing the pink haired vice captain on the ground next to her. "I need some time to think, I'll play with you later."

Watching as she ran out of the room, Yachiru frowned deeply. But she quickly decided to just go see if Kenpachi would play with her. Zooming through the halls, she was in the captains office in a matter of seconds. "Keeeeeen-chaaaaaaaan!" She called, jumping onto his shoulder.

"What do you want, Yachiru?" The captain muttered, placing his brush and ink pot to the side.

"Will you play with me, Ken-chan? Kiri-chan got upset when baldy yelled at her so she ran off somewhere and she won't play with me!" She pouted, kicking her feet a bit as she hung on his back.

Kenpachi stood up from his seat behind his desk. "What'd that idiot do?"

* * *

Boy, Ikkaku was sure acting like a jerk!

"And to me of all people?!" Kiriumi huffed, burying her head into a pillow.

Well, maybe there's something behind him being upset. Did you ever think of that?

* * *

Walking through the halls of the eleventh division, fourth division captain, Unohana Retsu, smiled kindly at lower seated members who cowered in fear of her. It was a surprisingly slow day at the fourth division, and so Retsu had decided to go see her younger sister. But she was having a surprisingly hard time finding her; she wasn't in the courtyard, she wasn't in the larger kitchen, she wasn't in the smaller kitchen, she wasn't even in her own bedroom. Frowning slightly, she noticed the divisions fifth seat, Ayasegawa Yumichika, heading her way. "Excuse me, Ayasegawa-san..." She smiled politely.

He smiled right back. "Good morning, Unohana-taichō. What brings you to our division this beautiful morning?"

"Actually I was hoping you could help me find Kiriumi-chan, I had some extra time today and thought it would be nice to spend some time with my sister." Her smile never seemed to falter.

"Hmm..." The feather-faced man, placed his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "I haven't seen her today."

The long haired captain sighed. "What a shame. She's masking her reiatsu well so I can't just sense her. And I've already checked the courtyard, both kitchens, and her bed room, but I still can't seem to find her."

Stopping to think about it for a moment, Yumichika frowned. "Well, though this is only a guess, you could try checking in the captains quarters. She might be hiding out there."

Retsu's smile returned. "I will, thank you for your help, Ayasegawa-san." And with that she was off to the captains quarters to find out what was wrong with her younger sister.

* * *

Meanwhile, a meeting was about to be held between a certain squad captain and his third seat...This could only end badly...

"What the hell is your problem?" Kenpachi growled, standing in the doorway to prevent Ikkaku from getting away.

The bald man stared up at his captain blankly. "What are you talkin' 'bout?"

Yachiru pulled herself higher on larger man's shoulder. "You know what you did pachinko-head!" She accused, pointing a small finger in his direction. "You made Kiri-chan get upset!"

"Che. I didn't do a God damn thing! She just got upset over nothing." He grunted, frowning frustratedly. "Not like I really care..."

* * *

"Don't you dare stop here!!" Kiriumi shouted, strangling the Narrator.

Sorry....I can't...keep typing...if...I can't....breath....

She quickly released the Narrator's throat. "Right. Now keep goin'!!"

Not until next chapter~!


	13. Chapter 12

And now for chapter twelve! ...Which is basically just a continuation of the last chapter....Please don't hurt me!!

"I'm sure people will understand how jerky internet companies can be..." Kiriumi sighed lightly.

Then...will you get me off of this sawmill? I'd really prefer not to die today...

"Only if you keep writing."

Okay, okay!!

* * *

"Kiriumi-chan?" Retsu called, knocking lightly on the door to Kenpachi's bedroom. "Kiriumi-chan, are you in there?"

Peeking her head up from the pillow it had been buried in just moments before, Kiriumi sighed. "Just a moment!" She called, brushing some hair out of her face and wiping her eyes. Quickly crossing the room, the fourth seat opened the door for her older sister. "Nee-san, what are you doing here?"

"Are you not happy to see me?" She asked, frowning lightly at her sister.

"Ah, no! No, of course not!" The younger flushed a bit. "Sorry, Nee-san. Would you like to join me for tea?"

A kind smile returned to the fourth division captain's features. "It's alright. And that sounds lovely." Carefully placing her arm around her younger sister's shoulders, Retsu smiled in a loving manner. "And then, perhaps, you could tell me what's making you upset."

Finding her feet surprisingly interesting at the moment, Kiriumi sighed. "Yeah, that sounds nice..."

"This kitchen is nice as ever; you must enjoy cooking in privacy." The older commented, taking her time to scan the room. Her eyes stopped on the open cabinet of herbs and teas that her younger sister was currently digging through. "Quite a selection you have. I see it's grown since the last time I was here."

"Well, you know me! Always trying to find new things to experiment with..." She flashed a large, and obviously fake, smile. Although she knew she should be lavishing the time she had with her sister, her mind was still stuck on Ikkaku's strange behavior.

"Now would you like to tell me what's affecting you so deeply?" Moving her braid to the side, the captain took a seat at the small table.

Silence filled the room for a moment as the fourth seat thought of where to start. "...Well--"

She was cut short when an immense amount of reiatsu shook the entire division. "Isn't that Zaraki-taichō's reiatsu?" Retsu commented. But her younger sister was already gone.

* * *

Ikkaku stepped back a bit, slightly startled by the sudden rise in his captain's reiatsu. "Do you fuckin' hear yourself?"

"Yeah!" Yachiru pipped in. "You care a lot about Kiri-chan and everyone knows it! She's you're friend so don't say bad stuff like that!"

The bald shinigami's frustration was becoming more apparent as his own reiatsu began flaring. "I don't have to fuckin' deal with this!" Turning to leave, he stopped, mouth agape, as another form blocked the other exit. "Kiriumi..." The fourth seat stood there, her blue eyes shifting uncomfortably back and forth between her captain and third seat.

"What is all this ruckus?" Yumichika asked, wrinkling his nose prissily at the group as he shoved past Kiriumi.

"Nothi--"

The dark haired girl was cut off as her older sister appeared behind her. "Well, I'm fairly sure everyone else can see that Ikkaku and Kiriumi have some things to discuss. Zaraki-taichō, Kusijashi-fukutaichō, Ayasegawa-san, would you like to accompany me for tea?"

Switching his eyes momentarily between the third and fourth seat, Yumichika's eyes came to rest on the fourth division captain as he smiled. "Why that sounds lovely, Unohana-taichō!"

Kenpachi watched Kiriumi's movements, almost as if waiting for a sign. Blue eyes locking with his golden ones, she nodded lightly, letting him know it was alright. "Fine, let's go then."

"But, Ken-chan!! What about baldy?!" Yachiru whined, wanting nothing more to punish Ikkaku for hurting the fourth seat.

"You know, fukutaichō, I'm sure there are plenty of treats in the kitchen. And I know Kiriumi wouldn't mind you having some..." The feather faced man stated, smiling slyly as Yachiru ran off to the kitchen ahead of the rest of them.

Kiriumi nodded appreciatively as the three of them filed out of the room. "I...Ikka...I'm not...Y-you know...I wold never..." She sighed in frustration, continuing to fumble with her words. "Ikkaku...you know me better than anyone. You know how much you mean to me, we've been friends for so long. And at one point we were even more than that." A soft smile graced her lips as put off memories flooded her mind. "It was always very special to me, and it always will be." Her features fell as she remembered some less pleasant memories. "I had thought you were my one true love...but when you just left like that, I-I was heart broken. You never even said goodbye...And yet, I still couldn't bring myself to hate you. Although I knew I would never be able to love you like that again." Carefully, Kiriumi took his hand in hers. "I had always figured you'd left because you didn't love me. But apparently that's not the case...So, why did you leave?"

"...It wasn't my choice to leave." Ikkaku mumbled, pulling his hands away from hers. "But I knew it was the right choice."

"And yet you couldn't even say goodbye..." She sighed.

"I didn't say goodbye 'cause I knew that wouldn't be the last time I'd see you!" The third seat said, turning around to face her.

Leaning back against the wall and sliding to the floor, Kiriumi lowered her eyes to her hands. "Well, you were right. We did meet again."

Snorting disdainfully, the bald man took a seat next to her. "Yeah, I remember. I recognized you right away, even with your shorter hair...And I remember that guy who was with you too."

A soft laugh escaped her lips. "Ah yes, my boyfriend in the shinigami academy, Yuji...But wait, I never saw you until after we had broken up...Or were you talking about Hideki? But I didn't start dating him until a while after we found each other..."

"Nah, I saw you before I talked with you again, so it was probably the first one. I remember how he kept hangin' all over you like he owned you or somethin'. Made my blood boil...So I beat the shit out of him."

A rough punch on the arm caused Ikkaku to glare lightly at his underling. "That was you?! You ass! I can't believe you beat up my boyfriend! So you're the reason Yuji dumped me..."

Elbowing her in reply, the third seat snorted. "Che, that kid was a wimp."

"I was still upset that he just randomly decided to dump me like that." Kiriumi sighed, laying her head back against the wall.

"I know." He turned his head to the side to watch the only woman he'd ever honestly loved. "That's why I decided to do somethin' to make it better. Or, at least, I'd try."

"Ikka..." So mentioned man shifted slightly, feeling the younger womans head on his shoulder. "You've been so good to me, even helping me with my other relationships just to make sure I was happy."

A rather noticeable blush was covering his face. "Don't be gettin' all girly about it..."

She laughed heartily, laying her head back against the wall. "You never change, huh? Not that that's a bad thing..." Turning her head to face him, she smiled softly. "Although I may be in love with Kenpachi, I still love you too Ikkaku. And that's never gonna change."

Following her example, he rose to his feet, mumbling, "Che, you always make everythin' so girly. But...yeah, you're right."

"Of course!" Kiriumi grinned, grabbing his arm and dragging him along. "Now let's go, I'm sure by now Yachiru-chan's already torn apart my kitchen looking for anything sweet."

Though he would never admit it, he'd just say it's too girly, Ikkaku knew at that moment he was always going to be in love with her, and nothing would change that. If that meant knowing she was sleeping with his captain, but still being there for her the next day when she was crying over some trivial matter, he'd most gladly be there. 'Cause that's what friends are for...Not that he'd ever say that out loud, lest he ruin his "tough guy" reputation.

* * *

See? Everything always turns out just fine in the end.

"Yup, even if Ikka can be a bit pissy..." Kiriumi muttered.

Who are you to talk...OW!

Kiriumi glared at the Narrator, cracking her knuckles in an intimidating manner. "You were saying?"

* * *

Bright and early Saturday morning, Daisuke stood outside the gates of the eleventh division. Trembling slightly, the young dark haired boy swallowed the rather large lump that had formed in his throat. "I'll be okay, I'll be okay, I'll be okay, I'll be okay..." He kept repeating in his mind. "Oh God, what am I doing here? I can't go into the eleventh division! ...But I worked so hard to get up the courage to ask for Kiriumi's help..."

"Hey, what're you doin' here? The academy isn't even close to the eleventh division!" The young academy student turned around to face the large, muscular third seat of the eleventh division.

He stared wide eyed. "I-I-I-I...uh...K-Kiriumi a-a-a-agreed--Ah!"

The poor boy yelped as Ikkaku took hold of his collar and hoisted him off of the ground. "What do you want with her?"

"Kiriumi!! H-help!!" Daisuke cried out, pulling at the bald man's strong grip on his top. Well, Kiriumi did warn him...

* * *

"Damn you and your need to stop at these random places!" Kiriumi complained.

Well, I try to keep the chapters a certain size, so...yeah....Don't worry, it's not like I'm just gonna end the entire story there! You just gotta wait until the next part comes out!


	14. Chapter 13

And now, the moment you've been waiting for!

"More Kenpachi porn?!" Kiriumi asked, smiling brightly.

...No...It's chapter thirteen!

* * *

"Kiriumi!! H-help!!" A voice echoed through the fairly empty eleventh division, as Kiriumi continued setting up her lesson plan for Daisuke, who was apparently just on time.

Carefully, she placed two steaming hot cups of tea on the small table in the room. "That's probably Akino-kun. And it sounds like he's found Ikka-kun already...I better go help him..."

The young academy student let out a light yelp as he quickly fell to the ground. He stared up Kiriumi as she scolded the bald man on how to treat guests. "...Akino-kun? You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no! I'm p-p-perfectly fine!" Daisuke stammered, rising to his feet and brushing some of the dirt off of himself. Shifting uncomfortably under the harsh gaze of the eleventh division third seat, he smiled shyly at Kiriumi.

She smiled kindly at him in reply. "Good, I wouldn't want you getting hurt before you even enter our division!"

"Che." Ikkaku grumbled. "Don't know why you even invited the damn kid over in the first place..."

"Ikka-kun..." All it took was one look from the fierce fourth seat to stop his grumbling. Turning to the slightly shaking academy student, she smiled softly in an attempt to calm him. "Alright, Akino-kun, why don't we head to my kitchen?"

"Y-yeah, thanks, Unohana-senpai." Daisuke smiled at her.

As the two chefs started their way into the division, Ikkaku followed. Kiriumi took notice of how tense the young boy was under her superior's harsh gaze. "Ikka-kun, what are you doing?" She asked, looking at him over his shoulder.

He shrugged. "I don't have anything to do today, so I thought I'd hang out with you. But since you're teachin' that kid to cook, I'll just watch that."

The dark haired woman sighed, slightly agitated at Ikkaku's stubborn nature. "But you're scaring Akino-kun..."

"Che. The kid should grow a pair..." He muttered.

Daisuke swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, calming himself as best as he could. "N...no, it's o-okay. I don't mind. Madarame-san can do whatever he pleases."

"See? The kid's fine." The bald man said, patting the academy student roughly on th shoulder.

"...Okay, but play nice, Ikka-kun." Kiriumi mentioned, quickening her pace a bit.

The three entered the small kitchen, the fourth seat immediately starting her lecture on how to get the most out of your supplies. Ikkaku grabbed some sake and took a seat at the small table in the room, watching her boredly. Daisuke watched her intently, nodding every now and then. Though, in truth, he wasn't hearing a single word she said, he was too caught up in admiring her beauty. "...And that will really bring out the flavor in whatever you make...Akino-kun? Are you alright?"

He quickly jerked himself out of his thoughts."O-oh! Sorry, Unohana-senpai! Please forgive me, I was lost in thought..."

"Yeah, staring at her boobs..." Ikkaku added, taking a sip of his sake. "I bet that's all the little pervert wa--"

He was quickly silenced by a wok to the face. "Shut up, Ikka!"

"N-no! No! I wold never! That's so disrespectful!" Daisuke waved his hands in front of him, blushing like mad.

"Ah, there you are, Kiri-chan..." Yumichika stopped what he was saying as he took in his surroundings. Daisuke was hiding his face in the corner, Ikkaku was trying to stop the blood squirting from his nose, Kiriumi was roughly helping Ikkaku with his bloody nose and appeared to be doing more damage than healing. "Kiri-chan? I need your help with something." He pressed, walking over to the two of them.

Practically shoving the tissue into his brain. "What is it Yumi-chan? I'm kind of busy at the moment..."

"Stop her!! She's trying to kill me!!" Ikkaku complained, attempting to pry the angry woman off of him.

"It's Yachiru. She hasn't woken up yet, and she's still in her room. I'm worried she might be ill, but she won't open her door for me." The beautiful man sighed, a truly worried expression crossing his features.

Kiriumi stopped trying to kill her bald friend with tissues and stood up, staring at Yumichika with an equally worried look. "Ya-Yachiru-chan? What's wrong with her? I better go check on her." She started toward the door, but stopped before exiting. "Either come with me or stay here, alright Akino-kun?"

"R-right, I'll come with." He said, running to catch up with the fast moving fourth seat.

The four quickly made their way to the eleventh division lieutenants quarters. Kiriumi quickly rapped on the door. "Yachiru-chan?! Yachiru-chan, are you in there? Answer me?!" When no answer came, she turned to the others and nodded at them as if to say 'I'll take care of this'. "Yachiru-chan, I'm coming in now."

Softly, she opened the door and stepped into the dark room. Her feet made no sound as she inched across the room, towards the bed. "Yachiru-chan, are you in here? Are you awake?" She whispered.

"Ki...Ki...Ki...ri...." A soft, hoarse voice breathed from the bed. Feeling the bed by her hand, she felt around until hot flesh was under her icy cold hands. "My...my...head..." The young girl whimpered.

"Yachiru-chan...!!" Quickly bundling the small girl in her blanket, Kiriumi picked her up and ran her out of the dark room. "Her forehead is burning up! We have to do something to reduce her fever immediately!! Quickly now!!" She ordered, bringing the small girl into her small kitchen while the rest followed. "Ikkaku, I need you to tell Kenpachi about this!"

"Right." He mumbled before running off to tell his captain.

"Yumichika, go tell my Nee-san about her condition and bring her or one of the other fourth division members here!" She ordered again.

He nodded in response, muttering a quick, "Of course," before running off to the fourth division.

Kicking the door to her kitchen down, she placed her lieutenant on the couch in the corner of the room, propping her up with a few pillows. "Akino-kun, your job is going to be very important. I need you to bring me the things I ask for. Starting with a bow of cool water and some wash cloths."

Daisuke swallowed the rather large lump in his throat and nodded. "R-right."

While he busied himself with that, Kiriumi ran over to one of her cabinets, grabbing her first aid kit and several herbs she knew could be used medically. They both appeared by the young girl at the same time, the fourth seat taking the water and cloths from him and setting them to the side also. "Good, good, now go boil some water and bring a cup for tea."

The young academy student rushed off to do as she'd said while she wet one of the cloths and placed it on Yachiru's head. A whimper escaped the small shinigami as her features contorted slightly. "Shhhh...you'll be fine." She soothed. "I'll take care of you...I won't leave you until you're all better...I promise..."

The loud stomps storming through the division alerted her of her captains and third seats arrival. "Where is she?! What's wrong with her!?" He shouted, rushing over to his lieutenants side.

"Kenpachi, please..." Kiriumi soothed to him also, holding his arm in a calming manner. "Akino, is the water ready?"

"I-i-i-it's n-not boiling y-y-yet." He stammered, struggling under the flaring reiatsu of the eleventh division captain. "B-b-b-b-but it's st-st-steaming."

The fourth seat looked through the herbs she had. "That's fine, Akino. I need you to stay strong for me, and bring me a cup of the water." He shakily brought the cup of water over to the eleventh divisions captain, lieutenant, third seat and fourth seat. She hastily took the cup and placed the correct herbs into the steaming water. "Ikkaku grab that spoon on the table and give it to me."

Kenpachi watched her press the herbs, fixing it just right to help Yachiru heal up faster. "Kenpachi, I need you to hold her up. Support her head." He did as she said, making sure to support her head correctly without the cloth dropping off. "Yachiru-chan, I know it seems hard, but I need you to drink this down." She took a moment to blow on the drink, to cool it down a bit more, before slowly letting her sip down the tea.

A couple moments after she set down the empty cup, Yumichika returned with Hanatarō. "Where is she?" He asked, pulling his pack off of his shoulder and pulling out some things to help.

"Over here." Kiriumi sighed, relieved to know she had a competent healer to care for her lieutenant. She moved out of Hanatarō's way to let him get to work, settling for a seat on the floor on the other side of Kenpachi. Grabbing the large captains hand for reassurance, she watched the fourth divisions seventh seat experienced hands as he worked.

* * *

Just about an hour later Hanatarō was finished. "I've done all that available. Her fever's been drastically reduced, and all she can really do now is sweat it out. Kiri-chan, watch her carefully over the next few days to make sure she's well. And when she wakes up some of your specialty tea should be good for her. I think that's it." He smiled weakly.

Kiriumi got up to give him a hug. "Thank you so much, Hana...Thank you..."

"It's no problem...really..." He sighed, hugging her back. "Keep her with you, take care of her."

"I will." Sighing softly, she released him, returning to Kenpachi and Yachiru's sides. Little did she notice that as the healer left, so did the academy student. But she was too caught up in her concern over the young, ill shinigami to even care.

* * *

"Well, so much for teaching Akino-kun anything..." Kiriumi mumbled.

Yeah, well I'm sure you'll agree that Yachiru's health is much much more important than a lesson that he wasn't even really paying attention to.

"He wasn't what?"


	15. Chapter 14

Kiriumi! Are you falling asleep again?

"I was just resting my eyes!" Kiriumi shot up and looked at the flustered looking Narrator confusedly. "What happened to you?"

What?! I'm sick! You're supposed to be nice to me then!

"Oh...right...."

* * *

Jerking slightly as she awoke from what little sleep she'd gotten that night, Kiriumi rubbed her eyes. It had been an extremely stressful night, not only for Kenpachi, Kiriumi, Ikkaku and Yumichika, but for the entire eleventh division. She took notice of just how exhausted everyone obviously was; Yumichika asleep with his head down on the table; Ikkaku sitting by the wall sleeping with his head down; Kenpachi was sitting in a chair by the head of the couch, surprisingly not asleep.

"Kenpachi? Have you been awake all night?" The dark haired woman asked, sitting up from her laying position at the end of the couch.

He turned his eyes to her for a moment, before turning his attention back to the still sleeping lieutenant. "Yeah. She hasn't moved all night."

Stretching a bit as she stood up, the fourth seat crouched down to check on Yachiru. "Her fever's all but disappeared, and she seems to be breathing normally again..." She yawned lightly before standing up fully again. "...and she shows no sign of distress. She's probably just resting up to regain her strength now." Placing a light kiss on her captains cheek as she passed, Kiriumi walked over to the stove to boil some water.

"She'll be fine then?" Kenpachi asked, watching his underling start on breakfast.

"Yes." She answered simply, walking over to the third and fifth seats to awaken them. "Yumi-chan, Ikka-kun, time to get up." A light knock on the door distracted the group. "Come in."

The door opened and one of the lower seats entered the room. "Taichō, Ichimaru-taichō and Kira-fukutaichō of the third division have requested to see you."

Nodding lightly, the captain stood from his seat. "Alright, you can go."

The chef was quickly at her lovers side. "She'll be fine." She reassured him, smiling softly up at him. "I'll make sure you'll be the first to know when she awakens. And I won't leave her until she does."

"Yeah." He muttered, leaving the kitchen to meet with the third divisions captain and lieutenant.

Yumichika cleared his throat, hoping to catch the fourth seats attention. "Kiri-chan, is she alright?" She nodded at him. "That's good...I'll leave her care to you then. Good luck."

"Thanks, Yumi-chan." She then turned to Ikkaku. "Do you wanna leave too?"

"No, I'll stay." The bald man stated, taking a seat at the small table. "You probably need someone around, and I'm hungry..."

Rolling her eyes lightly, she couldn't help but smile to herself. He always seemed to know just what she need to make her smile. "Thank you Ikka-kun. I'll be sure to make you something extra nice today."

* * *

Looks like things will be going back to normal soon enough.

"I really hope so..." Kiriumi sighed.

* * *

As the last of the food finished baking, there was some movement from the shinigami on the couch. A dry cough could be heard as the small lieutenant lifted herself up. "Kiri-chan? My throat hurts..." Yachiru's voice cracked a bit as she called out for the fourth seat.

Quickly picking up the cup of tea Kiriumi had already poured for the sickly girl, she rushed over to her side. "Yachiru-chan, drink this. It'll make your throat feel much better."

Carefully sipping down the contents of the cup, her face contorted slightly. "It's so bitter!" She whined, her throat obviously feeling much better seeing as her voice didn't crack. "Couldn't you put more sugar in it?"

"If I put sugar in it then you won't feel any better!" The taller shinigami smiled kindly. "Now drink up the rest. Then I'll let you have some sweets if you're feeling better. But I've gotta make sure you're feeling better."

Perking up at the mention of sweets, the pink haired shinigami grabbed the cup and practically swallowed the drink whole. "There! I'm feeling better already!! Can I have some sweets now? Please, please, Kiri-chan? I'm not sick anymore!"

"Say 'ah'." She directed, looking into her mouth. "No inflammation in your throat, everything looks good there. Now look up." Yachiru did as directed, squirming a bit with excitement. "Your eyes aren't dilated, no extra redness. Now stand up and make sure you can move alright."

"I can move great! Look!" She smiled, jumping off of the couch and doing a few jumping jacks to prove her health. "Can I please have some sweets now?"

The older woman turned to Ikkaku, who was busy digging into his meal. "Ikka-kun will you watch what Yachiru-chan eats? Make sure she doesn't eat too many sweets. We don't want her getting sick again.

He nodded, swallowing the mouthful of food he had. "Yeah, I'll watch her. What're you gonna do?"

Carefully, she place a tea pot and several cups onto a tray before straitening her appearance a bit. "I told Kenpachi I'd let him know as soon as she woke up. And also, tea is something good for meetings, it can be relaxing." Kiriumi took the tray and flashed a smile to her lieutenant and third seat. "I won't be long."

Silently making her way through the halls, the young Unohana smiled to herself. It'd been a while since she'd gotten the chance to see Izuru, and she was rather looking forward to it. Knocking lightly on the door she smiled wider. "Come in." Her captains gruff voice replied.

"Yachiru-chan has awoken, and she feels perfectly fine." She smiled, setting the tray on the large desk. "Ikkaku is watching her at the moment, making sure the food's alright on her stomach and whatnot. So I thought perhaps you would enjoy some green tea."

"What a kind thought, Kiriumi-chan!" Gin's grin seemed to grow a bit more. "In fact, I would love some tea."

"Would you like any sugar in that?" The fourth seat smiled, holding the cup out to him.

"No, no, it's fine as is. Thank you, Kiriumi-chan." He then turned to Izuru who was standing off to the side. "Would you like some tea, Kira-kun?"

The blond shook his head nervously. "N-no, I'm fine."

Smiling comfortingly in his direction for a moment, Kiriumi then turned to her captain. "Would you like any tea, Kenpachi?"

The large captain shook his head. "No." There was obviously a large amount of tension in the room, and with Kenpachi's reiatsu higher than usual she couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.

"Alright then. I'll leave this here in case you need anymore..." Her smile seemed a bit forced as she turned to the fox like captain. "Um...If it's not too much, Ichimaru-taichō, I was wondering if I could steal Izuru-kun away for just a bit?"

"I don't see a problem with that..." He looked over at the blond lieutenant and smiled. "Have fun, Kira-kun."

Izuru nodded nervously. "Thank you, taichō..."

Keeping his gaze on the ground, he followed the concerned fourth seat out of the tense office and into the hallways. "Izuru-kun...are you alright?"

He sighed lightly, the tension in his back releasing a bit. "I'm fine...It's just...been a long day."

"It's the morning, Izuru-kun..." Kiriumi pointed out, rubbing his back in a calming manner. "What have you been doing though? You seem so tense, and a bit more jumpy than usual..."

"I'm sorry...I'm just...a bit stressed." Smiling weakly for a moment as they entered the small kitchen, his features quickly dropped again. "All the work I have to do, and the things Ichimaru-taichō takes me to, it really is a lot."

"Kiri-chan! Droopy-eyes!" Yachiru greeted, jumping onto her fourth seat's shoulder in the same manner as she did with Kenpachi. "Kiri-chan, can we go play now? I'm so bored here!"

Shifting her gaze between her lieutenant and the third division lieutenant she chuckled nervously. "Yachiru-chan...I'm kinda...uh...well..."

Two strong hands lifted the small girl off of the fourth seat's shoulder. "C'mon, why don't we go play tag with the rest of the division." Ikkaku said, dragging Yachiru out of the small kitchen as he grinned at Kiriumi.

"Thank you..." She smiled in reply, then turning to Izuru she softened her smile a bit. "Here, now why don't I make you some nice relaxing herbal tea? How would you like that?"

He shook his head nervously. "No, really! You don't need to make anything special for me."

Pushing him gently onto one of the chairs, she pat him softly on the head. "Nonsense! It's not a problem in the least." Carefully she pulled out two small cups and placed some water on to boil, pulling out the correct herbs. "...You do seem rather busy though. We never get the chance to see each other anymore! I mean, can you even remember the last time you, Renji-kun, and I even spent time together?"

"...No, I really can't. I miss it the three of us spending time together." Izuru sighed sadly, looking down into cup of tea that had been placed in front of him.

"Just like our academy days..." Kiriumi smiled nostalgically, taking a seat next to the blond vice captain. "Those were the days, huh?"

* * *

"It's always so nice to catch up with friends..." The fourth seat stared off into the distance, obviously lost in thought.

Yeah, if only you all had more time on your hands.

"Really..."


	16. Chapter 15

Wow, I just realized, but I've already made it past my first story!

"Congrats! It's good that you're so committed." Kiriumi smiled, ruffling the Narrator's hair.

Yeah, like my hair isn't messed up enough already!

* * *

Kiriumi and Izuru laughed lightly together, recalling more of their adventures in the academy. It felt good to the fourth seat to see her friend smile like that again, she missed seeing him happy and care free. A light knock on the door pulled them out of good time. "Come in." Kiriumi called, getting up to clear the empty cups from the table and possibly make more for the new visitor.

A mocking grin greeted them as the door opened. "There you are, Kira-kun." Gin said, entering the small kitchen.

"Ichimaru-taichō..." Izuru's expression returned back to it's usual depressed look.

"Ichimaru-taichō! Would you like to join us for some tea?" Kiriumi smiled fakely, more concerned for her friend than anything else.

"As lovely as that sounds, Kiriumi-chan, I'm afraid it's time for the two of us to leave. C'mon, Kira-kun, let's go." He grinned, turning to leave.

Izuru sighed softly, smiling weakly at his close friend before running to catch up with his captain. "Coming, Ichimaru-taichō..."

Frowning as she watched them leave, Kiriumi returned to straitening up her kitchen. Though, despite her best efforts to ignore it, she couldn't help a foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was something strange about that meeting, and something was really bothering Izuru. "I just know something's wrong now, I just can't seem to put my finger on it..." She mused out loud to herself, cleaning the inside of her stove.

"Maybe you should try using more than a finger..."

Slamming her head against the top of the oven, she cursed a bit. "Dammit, Renji!!" Rubbing the back of her head, she glared at him. "Ever heard of knocking first? That really hurt!!"

Renji held up a thick book, almost as if it were a peace offering. "I got this for you from the real world."

She walked over to her tattooed friend, taking the large book out of his hands and flipping through it. "Oh my...These are all recipes from the western culture!! They've got souffles! And quiche! Thank you so much!!" She giggled, jumping up and hugging him.

"No problem." He smiled weakly.

The chef stopped smiling and looked at him softly, she knew him too well, and she could always tell when something was bothering the former sixth seat. "What's wrong, Renji?"

Sliding the door shut behind him, the red head frowned. "Mind if we talk?"

"Not at all..."

* * *

Uh-oh, something very bad is going on.

"I'm worried now..." Kiriumi sighed, rubbing her head tiredly.

* * *

Sitting in the silence, Kiriumi enjoyed a nice cup of tea, while skimming through the cook book Renji had bought for her in the human world. It was a book of foreign recipes, most of which the shinigami chef had only heard of. Currently in the oven her first attempt at a souffle was cooking. She couldn't help but frown slightly to herself. Although she was happy to have new recipes to test, she was mostly just cooking to make herself feel better. Only the previous day, when Renji and Byakuya returned to Seireitei, they had brought back Rukia...for her execution.

"It's just so wrong..." She said to no one in particular. Just then the light dinging noise of her timer went off. Using a towel to hold the dish, she pulled out the perfectly puffed up souffle out of the oven and set it on the nearest counter. "The recipe said not to make too many loud noises, otherwise the souffle might fall." The girl silently mused, solemnly still caught up with thoughts of her friends.

That's when the worst thing that could happen to that meal...well, happened. "YAY!!! I smell something tasty!" A flash of pink darted into the room, followed by the one called Makizo.

He stopped at the door to catch his breath. "Please, fukutaichō...wait..." He panted, doubling over slightly.

Frowning at the fallen meal, Kiriumi sighed. "Ah, my poor meal...ruined..." She then turned her attention to Makizo. "Sounds like you need to train a little bit harder. I suggest you start immediately, I'll look after Yachiru-chan."

"Of course!" He said, taking that chance to get as far away from Yachiru and her "play time" as possible.

"That doesn't look very good." Yachiru pointed out, hanging on Kiriumi's shoulder similar to how she frequently hung on Kenpachi's shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right." The fourth seat sighed. "I'll get around to making another one later. So what would you like to do for now?"

Placing a hand to her chin thoughtfully, the young girl sighed. "Well, Ken-chan's been acting kinda mopey, we should go cheer him up! I bet that'd make him feel a whole lot better!" She grinned sweetly.

Kiriumi couldn't help but frown. "I didn't even see him after the meeting with Ichimaru-taichō...Alright, let's go help him."

"Yay!" Yachiru cheered, hanging on tightly as the chef ran to where their captain was hiding.

Biting her lip nervously, the older looked at the small girl on her shoulder. "Do you know why Kenpachi's so upset?"

Her small brow furrowed in concentration. "I dunno...Ken-chan hasn't been talking as much recently, maybe it was because fox-face came to visit him! I dunno why, but whatever fox-face was saying was making Ken-chan real mad."

The darker haired woman stopped as they came to the captains office. She didn't quite know why, but something was making her feel incredibly nervous and shy again. It was almost like when she first came to eleventh division, it was a bit odd, and slightly intimidating, but something was different from then.. Back then as soon as she met the captain, things just sort of clicked. So, why was she feeling so strange now?

Completely forgetting her manners, she slid open the door and walked into the room, not even bothering to knock. "Kenpachi? How are you feeling? I haven't seen you in a few days..."

The scarred captain looked up from his desk, staring blankly at the two of them. "I'm fine."

"Ken-chaaaaan~!" Yachiru smiled, jumping off of Kiriumi's shoulder and onto Kenpachi's. "We should go do something fun, the three of us!"

Watching as the large man averted his gaze from her, a cold wave of unwant washed over the fourth seat. "Actually, you know what? I forgot I have to go do some shopping, so I'll just go do that. You two have fun though."

Before any protests could be made, she disappeared, leaving not only the office, but the entire division. Tearing lightly, Kiriumi wiped her face, hoping not to be seen by anyone she knew. "Unohana-senpai?"

Looking down at the dark haired boy and his three friends she smiled. "Hey, Akino-kun! How've you been? And who are all your friends?"

"Uh...um..." He stammered, staring up at the fourth seat nervously.

"I'm Tenpikin Chiyoko!" The small blond girl smiled, stepping next to Daisuke. "I really must say, it is such an honor to meet you, Unohana-sama!!"

A slightly taller brunette girl stood next to her. "My name is Ameyama Shiori, it's very nice to meet you. Akino-kun speaks very highly you. In fact, he never really seems to stop talking about you!" She smiled sweetly.

"Yeah," a tall dark haired boy grinned, ruffling Daisuke's hair, "Akino here never shuts up about you! It's awesome to finally meet ya! Name's Touketsuhi Mitsuo."

Kiriumi nodded, smiling kindly at the four of them. "It's nice to meet you all, Tenpikin-chan, Ameyama-chan, Touketsuhi-kun. And it's always nice to see you too, Akino-kun. But I've got some shopping to get done, so..."

The blue eyed boy stepped forward. "We could help you, senpai!"

"You don't have to..." She smiled softly, a wanted feeling returning to her.

"We'd love to!" Chiyoko added, smiling brightly at the older shinigami.

"It wasn't like we had anything else to do at the moment." Mentioned Shiori, leaning carefully on her smaller friend.

Running a hand through her hair, Kiriumi grinned. "Well, alright then! Let's get going so we'll have plenty of time to take care of things. It always takes time when you're looking for the best ingredients and such."

"Is that a cook thing?" Mitsuo asked.

"It's actually more of a good cook thing. Just one of those things you wanna keep in mind if you're gonna try to pursue cooking, even only as a hobby." She said, walking slowly toward the gates that led to Rukongai. "Or it could just be me, I'm fairly picky about what I put in the food I make for my friends."

The blond walked next to her idol. "No, you're smart to worry about your friends like that!"

Chuckling lightly, she smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Tenpikin-chan!"

* * *

That's it for now! I'll try to keep my pace with my writing, but it's crunch time for me, so I'll be really busy for the next two months or so!

"I'm sure they'll wait, Narrator-chan." Kiriumi said, patting the Narrator's shoulder reassuringly. "Everything will work out in time."

Yeah, I know...


	17. Chapter 16

Damn, my feet hurt!!

"Well, now that you actually have a job you can't lay around and do nothing all day anymore!" Kiriumi grinned, jabbing the lazy Narrator on her side. "I think six hours was a good start for you!"

Let's see you stand around all day and do nothing but wash dishes, prepare food and serve it!

"...Do you even realize what story you're narrating?"

....Oh....riiiight....never mind then...

* * *

"...And so you see, that is the only way I ever survived my academy days. And that is why you four need to stick together no matter what!" Kiriumi smiled, explaining to her little ducklings the importance of friendship. It had become a complete habit over the past few days; sleep in her own room, make breakfast for the squad, talk with Ikkaku or Yumichika or even Yachiru, make lunch for the squad, have her little academy student children come over, make dinner for the squad, and take care of the students. Maybe she was just trying to keep her mind off of Kenpachi, and also trying to forget about Rukia's execution, but it didn't bother her as long as she had her little ducklings. "Although it doesn't hurt that you've got a friend that's high up in the eleventh division."

"Yes, it's so wonderful to know you, senpai!" Daisuke smiled, blushing lightly as the fourth seats arm pulled him closer to her chest.

The door to the small kitchen opened and a shiny head walked in. "Che. What the hell're these fuckin' kids doin' here again?" Ikkaku's scowl grew as he noticed the hold Kiriumi had on the wimpy dark haired one.

A small glare was thrown his way. "Watch your mouth around my kids." She scolded, wrapping her other free arm around Shiori's shoulders.

"They're not your kids!" He snapped, glaring at the academy students and grabbing a bottle of sake. "I don't know what you think you're doin' takin' care of these brats, but that don't make them your kids!"

Looking away from her long time friend, she sighed sadly. "At least they want to be with me..." She whispered, barely loud enough for Daisuke and Shiori to hear.

Chiyoko and Mitsuo both stood up to defend their new mother figure. "Leave Unohana-sama alone! She's just so kind and giving that she wants nothing more than to help us academy students!!" The blond glared, staring up defiantly at the third seat.

"Yeah, chill out, man!" Mitsuo added, coming just shy of eye to eye with the bald warrior. "Senpai's just tryin' to keep us safe, and make stuff easier for us. There's nothin' wrong with that!"

"Whatever...Kiri, Yumichika wants to see you soon." Ikkaku muttered, taking a swig directly out of the bottle as he made his way to the door. "...And think about what you're doin' and why..." He added, sliding the door shut behind him as he left.

"Don't worry about that, senpai!" Mitsuo grinned, trying to cheer up the depressed chef. "I'm sure he just doesn't get what a great thing yer doin'!"

She nodded slightly, still running that last line through her mind. She didn't know why she'd chosen to care for these kids, she didn't even know what she was doing half the time! But still, she couldn't bring herself to deny the joy fulfilling her maternal instincts was bringing her. "I know, Mitsuo-kun. But I've known Ikka-kun for a very long time, and I know that no matter what he's always had my best interests in mind." Standing up and smiling down at the academy students, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Daisuke-kun, Shiori-chan, Chiyoko-chan, Mitsuo-kun, but I know how Yumi-chan can get if I ignore him when he wants something. So I'll have to have you all go home a bit sooner today."

"It's okay!" Daisuke smiled, standing up next to her. "We'll be back tomorrow, okay, senpai?"

"Alright." She smiled kindly, letting the younger ones gather their things before exiting the kitchen. "I'll see you all later!"

And then she was off, intent on finding the beautiful fifth seat. Not that he was ever that hard to find... "There you are, Kiri-chan!" Yumichika smiled one of his oh-so perfect smiles as the fourth seat approached. "I've been waiting for you to show up."

Kiriumi brushed her hair slightly out of her eyes, now that she thought about it, she was probably due for a haircut sometime soon. "Ikka-kun just told me. What's the urgency? If it was something important why didn't you just come find me yourself?"

His features fell a bit. "I just wanted to see how Kuchiki-san's new execution date was affecting you..."

"...What new date?" Questioned the fourth seat, taking a seat next to her close friend.

Feather adorned eyes widened, staring incredulously at the chef. "Didn't you hear that they've moved the date up and it's now in twenty-five days?"

The shock was evident on her features, as her breath hitched in her throat. "Twenty...five? That's ridiculous!! They can't do that to her!!!!" Yumichika looked away, knowing exactly how his friend would react. There was the harsh sound of glass shattering, followed by the breaking of wood, and a loud shout and an unsteady breath. "This isn't right!!!"

"Kiri-chan, where are you going?" He asked, watching her as she stormed out of the room.

She made no reply, in fact, she just flash stepped away. Quickly making it to the sixth division, storming through it all, until she found herself at the prison cells. And there she was, Rukia Kuchiki, just sitting there on a chair in the middle of her cell. "How...can you just sit there and take this...?"

There was little acknowledgment from the adopted royal. "There's nothing I could do anyway..."

"You could fight it! You could run, I could help you!! Think about Urahara-taichō! And Shihōin-san!! They escaped and so can you!" Kiriumi clenched the bars of the cell so harshly she was surprised they didn't break "Or have you given up already...?"

"...I'm not worth saving..." She whispered, eyes shaded by her hair.

"The hell you're not!! You mean much more to people than you think you do! What?! Do I need to beat it into your skull?!!" There was a sudden cold feeling in the room as a large reiatsu flared slightly. Turning her head to the side, she glared at the captain of the sixth division. "This isn't over, Rukia, you're not getting away from it..." Gaining better control of her own reiatsu, the fourth seat left the cells. "_Kuchiki-taichō_..." She spat on her way out.

* * *

"Why does it all have to go downhill...?" Kiriumi sighed frustratedly.

Because the world hates everyone?

* * *

Kenpachi glowered to himself as he lay in his bed, able to do nothing but stare at the wall. It'd been this way for the past few days, and he knew exactly why he could no longer sleep. It's because she was no longer there. Even just the fact her presence was missing was enough to keep the large captain tossing and turning all night. Though he couldn't really blame her leaving like that. It's not like he'd been the most friendly person lately. He'd been so caught up in all the issues that Gin had discussed with him at their last meeting.

"Fuck it..." He muttered, getting out of his large bed and leaving in search of the one thing he wanted.

Stopping by the fourth seats room, he found it to be empty, which was surprising, considering that's where she would have been found the previous nights. He then decided to check the only other place he could really expect to find her: her kitchen. And there she was. Sleeping on the couch, tear stained, red eyes obvious as he scanned her. "Mmm..." Kiriumi moaned in her sleep, obviously plagued with unpleasant dreams.

Carefully, the large captain scooped up his lover, being sure not to awaken her in the process, and carried her back to his room. Her features relaxed as the two of them lay in the familiar bed. "This is where you belong." He mentioned, watching as she cuddled close to him in her sleep.

"I know, I've missed it..." She mumbled against his chest.

He stared down at the top of her head for a moment. "You awake?" When no reply came he just waved it off.

"I don't think I could live without having you with me, I was so confused when Gin came and you got so cold...For some reason I kept thinking it was somehow my fault..." It was hard to make out, but Kenpachi understood.

"What he said didn't matter. It wasn't you either."

"That's a relief. I was so afraid."

He snorted slightly. "You're part of the eleventh division you're not supposed to be afraid of anythin'."

"No knowledge of how women work..."

"Che. Whatever..."

Shifting slightly in her sleep, she groaned a bit. "It's okay, it's not a big deal or anything..."

"You gotta be awake."

"Don't leave me here alone..."

"What're you..." Looking down at her face he noticed that she was still asleep. "I ain't gonna."

With that simple answer, she relaxed again. "Good...I love you..."

There was a slight bit of hesitation, his eyes averting to the wall again.. "...Shut up and keep sleepin'..."

* * *

Aw...I wonder how many people would want to kill me if I said that that was the end?

"Kill Narrator-chan...." Kiriumi muttered in her sleep, turning over on her side.

I'll just take that as a lot...good thing it's not! ...Hey!!

Taking the Narrator's favorite pillow she began attempting to strangle it. "Kill..."


	18. Chapter 16 and a half

I really, REALLY hate where I live. A bunch of fuckin' ignorant people who aren't accepting of peoples life decisions...

"Well, at least you put up a fight like a true eleventh division member." Kiriumi smiled weakly.

Yeah, but guys shouldn't be asses like that...

* * *

A harsh light filled the large room, reflecting off of the polished wooden floor and shining into the face of the young fourth seat. Groaning uncomfortably she rolled over on her side, burying her head in the warmth beside her and attempting to fall back asleep. It was then that she noticed something was different from when she went to sleep. Kiriumi cracked her eye open and noticed that she was no longer on the couch in her small kitchen, instead she was in a very familiar bed and a very familiar embrace.

"Kenpachi..." She breathed, smiling faintly at her sleeping captain. Careful not to awaken the large shinigami, she carefully wedged herself into a comfortable position, her back completely pressed against his front. It was almost too perfect.

Grunting lightly, he pulled her closer, one hand firmly taking hold of her hip and the other on her chest. It was a very familiar position. Though she couldn't help but think how strange he'd been acting, he obviously was the same subconsciously. So why did he seem so strange during normal day activities?

A light squeak escaped her lips as a firm hand gave a quick squeeze to her breast. "Nice way to wake up..." Kenpachi commented, staring down at his semi-flustered fourth seat.

"For you maybe." The dark haired girl sighed, turning over to face her lover.

She was surprised to find his coarse lips pressed against hers in a feverish kiss, though she was still quick to return it. A large tongue quickly snaked it's way into her more than welcoming mouth, rubbing and feeling every inch of the wet cavern. The captain bit down roughly on her bottom lip, drawing just a bit of blood from the soft, pouty flesh. "How's that?" He smirked, rubbing her breasts roughly while pinching the nipples.

A muffled moan was his only reply. Suddenly, Kiriumi felt a rush flow through her, and she quickly found herself straddling the much larger shinigami. Though she was surprised by her own ferociousness, she was no where near stopping. In fact, she then began sucking and biting on his exposed chest. She groaned against his scarred skin, "Better, but I still want more..."

He had to admit, this suddenly aggressive nature of hers was really turning him on. The robe he was wearing slid partially off as his erection peeked through, it only became worse as she gridded her hips into his. An approving growl was heard from her captain as she continued fiercely pressing herself against him, teasingly running her tongue along his firm, muscular chest.

With a quick pull to her sash, her robe easily slid open, revealing her perfectly smooth skin and exposing her perfect, fit body to warm morning air. She carefully leaned down, taking his sash in her teeth, and tugging playfully. The clothes were quickly thrown to the side, pooling in a small pile at the end of the large bed.

Confidently throwing a smirk up at her captain, she leaned down to lick some precome off of the head of his cock. A throaty groan was heard from her captain as she softly took the organ into her mouth. Smoothly, she slid more and more of it into her mouth, taking the whole of it deep into her throat until tears stained the corners of her eyes. "Mm..." She moaned, the vibrations sending waves upon waves of pleasure through her captain. In a tortuously slow manner, the fourth seat pulled his enlarged member out of her warm, moist mouth.

Groaning impatiently, Kenpachi thrust his hips up, slamming himself into her mouth. As she pulled back, he quickly flipped her down onto the bed and pinned her there. His mouth slammed onto hers in a heated, violent kiss, causing her to squirm slightly.

Though she was completely helpless under the firm, and terrifyingly strong, grip of her captain, she wouldn't have had it any other way. He moved down from her bruised and bloodied lips, and bit down intensely on her nipple, teasing the other with his fingers. Her back arched to his touch, moans and groans filling the room as a familiar moisture built up in between her legs.

"Kenpachi..." She purred, grinding her body against his. "...I-I want you now..." Her voice cracked, sensations of pleasure coursing through her body. "Take me now...please...."

He had always been a very straight forward and one to get to the point, this morning was no different. Without any sort of warning, not even stopping his violent biting, he slammed harshly into her. A loud gasp filled the room; her body stiffened considerably. It was sudden, and hurt very much, but in Kiriumi's mind it hurt so good.

The smaller shinigami relaxed ever so slightly as her superior pulled out of her for a moment, before slamming back into her with much force. Her nails dug into the bed, tearing into the sheets and the bed itself; the pain was all but a distant memory, and now her body was throbbing with pleasure. Loud moans filled the room, her hips rising to meet his thrusts.

"Ngh...harder..." Groaning passionately, she shifted her position, feeling him slamming into her deeper and harder. "F-fast-ah!!" Kenpachi smothered her mouth in a kiss to keep her from screaming too loudly. It was, in fact, the morning, and they could attract some unwanted attention if they got too loud. She continued screaming in pleasure into the kiss, as he continued slamming into her, hitting her G-spot every time.

"Kiri..." The captain could no longer hold back his own groans, her forceful nature was driving him crazy.

Throwing her head back, she cried out loudly. "A-ah! I'm...I'm g-gonna come...!!"

Sharp teeth bit down into the soft flesh on her neck, causing crimson liquid to drip into his quite welcoming mouth. Her gasps and moans increased as she reached her climax. The feeling of her walls contracting around his member sent pulsations of pleasure through his body, pushing him closer to his edge.

"Almost there..." He groaned, continuing to slam into her, despite her obvious pain. The ten nails digging into his back, forcing blood to drip down his scarred body, finally pushed him over the edge. He came with a low groan, spilling his seed into the young fourth seat.

Kenpachi collapsed next to her, still not having removed himself from her. Kiriumi smiled softly, cuddling close to her captain and lover. "Kenpachi..." She mumbled against his chest.

Pulling up their robes and the sheet to cover them. "What?" He looked down at her.

She hesitated slightly, averting her eyes to the wall. A soft sigh escaped her lips. "Never mind...It's not important..."

Though it was obvious that something was bothering her, he decided not to ruin their happy, relaxing morning. "Che. Alright..."

* * *

Yeah, I know that was short.

"But still good!" Kiriumi smiled, patting the Narrator on her back. "I'm sure people are just happy to see that you're not dead."

Maybe...Anywhat, next chapter will be back to the normal length and stuff, and maybe I'll be able to finish that three shot thingy so I can work on my other stories too! Well, until then, ta ta!


	19. Chapter 17

Aiya! I'm freakin' tired!!

"Why? You haven't done anything lately..." Kiriumi pointed out, idly flipping through the Narrator's manga selection. "Wow, you really don't have anything do you?"

Hey, I'm cheap, and I can get most of my manga online. So nyah!

* * *

Kiriumi had been hiding. Why she'd been hiding? She didn't quite know anymore. How long had it been? She hadn't the slightest clue. All that she did know was that she was not going to be coming out anytime soon.

"Rukia..." She muttered, leaning back against the wall. The sewers weren't the choice hide out for the dark haired shinigami, but she knew it was the only place nobody really knew about. Only a few people ever came around there, mostly just fourth division members who came around to clean on occasion, though with the ryoka invasion she wasn't quite concerned about running into any of them.

"Ganju-san, it's this way!" That voice seemed rather familiar to her.

"Hana…?" She called, finally finding herself again. Hanatarō!h The small fourth divisioner stopped at the sound of a familiar voice. Looking around carefully he scanned for his good friend.

The large man, Ganju, stopped and looked around nervously. "Show yourself, shinigami! I'll take you down!"

Before anyone could realize what was going on Kiriumi had the obnoxious man pinned to the ground and she stood on his back. "You kidnapped Hanatarō didn't you!?" She glowered at him, digging her foot harshly into his back.

"No! Kiriumi-san, it's okay!" Hanatarō pressed, trying to get the eleventh division fourth seat to stop trying to kill his friend. "Ganju-san is helping us! And Kurosaki-san too! We have to help him though, he's hurt!"

She finally took notice of the orange haired boy that had fallen to the ground when she jumped Ganju. "Here, we can take him over here, it should be safe."

"Thank you, Kiriumi…" He smiled at her for a moment as she rushed him into the dark room in the sewer. And then Hanatarō got to work.

* * *

After several long hours Hanatarō was finally done. "He just needs to rest now, he should be fine by morning."

"Alright." Ganju said, settling for a seat against the wall.

"I'm glad to hear he'll be alright. But what happened? Why are you with the ryoka? What are you trying to do? And who hurt Kurosaki-san so severely?" Kiriumi stood, obviously too tense to really sit back and relax until morning.

Averting his eyes nervously to the ground Hanatarō shifted his feet uncomfortably. "W-well, Kurosaki-san and Ganju-san tried to use me to escape from some eleventh division members…" The young lady glowered lightly at that. She didn't appreciate her friends being used like that, and she'd been telling the eleventh divisioners to behave around the fourth divisioners. "But it's okay! We got out of it okay…"

"You shouldn't let yourself be used like that, Hana!" She added, hugging him in a friendly manner.

"…They're trying to save Rukia…" The small boy whispered, lowering his head even more.

Ganju snorted from his spot in the corner. "Whaddu ya mean 'trying'? We're gonna save this Rukia chick!"

Standing frozen, she stared off into nothingness. The ryoka weren't the bad guys; they were trying to help Rukia! They were trying to save her friend! "Save Rukia…"

"Kiriumi-san…?" Nervously he shook her arm to hopefully snap her back into focus.

"I'll help. We're going to save her." Kiriumi replied, a look of pure determination crossing her features. The determination was then replaced with a soft look as she looked back at the sleeping ryoka. "But what happened to him? It must have been something very serious for someone to come out with those wounds."

And uncomfortable silence settled over them as Hanatarō tried to find the courage to tell her what happened. "What was his name…Oh yeah! It was that Renji guy!" Ganju said, scratching at the side of his face. "He was a good fighter, I wonder if he survived…"

"R-Renji…?" She choked on the words. In her previous state, before she'd run into Hanatarō, she thought that she'd felt Renji's reiatsu. But in her lost state, she didn't really get too concerned about it. "…Renji can't be dead…I'm sure of it."

Hanatarō wasn't quite sure if she was saying that because she actually was sure, or if she was just trying to convince herself of it. "Kiri--"

"You guys look tired." She interjected; walking into the room Ichigo was healing in and taking a seat nearby him. "You two rest, I'll watch over Kurosaki-san."

As much as he didn't want to leave her alone like that, he knew it was true. He didn't know how much longer he could keep his eyes open. "…Alright."

Settling down next to the orange haired shinigami she let her thoughts begin to wander. This boy, he was beginning to feel familiar to her. Something about his reiatsu just seemed familiar to her. Though she was having some trouble putting her finger on it. "Why do I feel like I've felt this before?"

Just then it clicked, this boy's reiatsu had sprang up along with Ikkaku's. "Hmm…" The fourth seat chuckled to herself. "You beat Ikkaku _and_ Renji? Boy, Kurosaki-san, maybe you do have what it takes to save her…I'll be happy to help you out whenever you need it. Good luck."

* * *

"This boy might actually be able to do it all. I really hope so." Kiriumi sighed.

It's Ichigo! Of course he's gonna do it!

"I don't know him, but I hope you're right."

* * *

The four ran through the seireitei, which was surprisingly empty. "Something has to be wrong; there are usually guards and other things around. Why wouldn't they be around at such a crucial time?"

Ichigo shrugged, continuing to run anyway. "Who cares? All that means is that we won't have any more pointless battles keeping us from getting to her."

"That may be true, but—" Her thought was stopped short as an insanely large reiatsu flared all around them. "It's…"

"What the hell is this?!" The orange haired teen shouted. The three all looked as if they were going to fall over at any moment. "Run!!"

She knew just who it was, and she knew that they weren't going to make it very far either way. "Hanatarō!" She called, running over to him as he fell down. Holding him carefully, she used a bit of her reiatsu to counter her captains and create an easier place for the small fourth division member.

"Are you Kurosaki Ichigo?" Kenpachi asked, appearing right in front of Ichigo.

Staring sadly at her captain, she knew she couldn't take Ichigo's side for this battle. "How do you know my name?!" The orange haired teen glared at the large captain defiantly.

Just then a little pink blur jumped from Kenpachi's shoulder, to Ichigo's shoulder, then landed softly on Kiriumi's shoulder. "Ken-chan! We finally found him! And we found Kiri-chan too! It looks like you scared Kiri-chan's friend though."

"You know him?!" Ganju asked incredulously.

"He's my captain," Kiriumi stated, a strangely sad expression covering her face. "And…"

"Kiri-chan is Ken-chan's woman!" Yachiru smiled cheekily, jumping back over to Kenpachi. "Are you all Kiri-chan's friends? Baldy already told us about Ichi-chan!"

The fourth seat cleared her throat. "They're helping Rukia. Or, they were going to." She stood up and walked over to Ganju, handing the young healer to him. "Take Hanatarō and run to the tower. I'm leaving it up to you two."

"What about Kurosaki?!" He shouted, taking Hanatarō into his arms nonetheless.

Her dark eyes turned dangerous as she glared at him. "Just go!!!" It almost felt as if her heart was ready to break. Any hope she had of them saving Rukia had been left with Ichigo, and she knew that it was never going to happen now. But her true loyalty would always reside with her love. And that's what her decision was.

Ichigo pulled out his sword and held it defensively. "What the hell is going on, Kiriumi!?"

She stood to the side, allowing Yachiru to hang comfortably on her shoulder, and making sure to stay a safe distance away. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-san. I really hope you survive."

"What are you talking about? What does this guy want?!" He asked, looking between the two girls off to the side, and their captain.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I'm here to kill you." Kenpachi grinned viciously, his reiatsu only seeming to grow stronger with every moment he waited for this battle.

There was no way this would end well…

* * *

I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!! Don't kill me!!

"Why would we kill you? You only made us wait for like six months to continue your stories, there's no reason to kill you." Kiriumi said, smothering the Narrator with a pillow.

I know, my groove died. Really badly. But I got my groove back! And I'm even working on my other stories too! So, don't wish death upon me? Please?


	20. Chapter 18

So, back for more, eh?

"I don't think anyone has to guess very hard what's going to happen." Kiriumi mentioned, watching the Narrator battle with her television. "Or are you talking about the TV?"

I'm not quite sure anymore! The DVD won't stay!!

Kiriumi watched the Narrator poke the DVD player with a rolled up magazine, finding herself mildly amused. "You have fun with that."

* * *

Every moment of the battle went exactly as she had expected. It was like watching a movie that you already knew the ending to. And it seemed like that ending had come. Kiriumi wanted to hide her face, she wanted to look away, but she couldn't bring herself to. The way Kenpachi moved, the vicious smile he would get whenever Ichigo did actually cut him. It was amazing to see. The way that he fought was so thrilling to watch.

"Looks like Ichi-chan's done now." Yachiru stated, wriggling lightly from her position on Kiriumi's shoulder. "Ken-chan sure looked like he had fun though!"

"Too bad Ichigo didn't make it through…" She sighed, jumping down from the building she had been standing atop. Walking over to her captain, the youngest Unohana sighed heavily. "We should probably get back to the eleventh division, Kenpachi—"

Suddenly, a flaring reiatsu cut her short. A look of surprise crossed her face as she watched the ryoka stand back up. His power had increased so much, it almost seemed impossible. Without another word the fourth seat jumped back up to her perch on top of the nearest building. "Ichi-chan got even stronger, Kiri-chan! Now Ken-chan can have even more fun!"

The pink haired lieutenant jumped onto the edge of the building and sat down to watch, but Kiriumi couldn't bring herself to do anything but stand and watch in awe. It was then that she could see it. No matter what the outcome of this battle, if he lost, if he won, it didn't matter. No matter what, Ichigo was going to save Rukia. "I believe in you, Kurosaki-san. You have the power to save her."

And thus the battle began again. All the attacks had become stronger, they moved faster, and Kenpachi seemed to be receiving more wounds than before. She could feel it, the need for battle. The carnal urge to be part of that, the feeling every true eleventh division member felt deep inside. Just from watching the battle, that want, that need, seemed to grow.

For a moment, the fighting stopped. They seemed to be conversing about something, but Yachiru and Kiriumi both knew what was coming next. The vicious eleventh division captain ripped off his eye patch throwing it to the side. Immediately his own reiatsu increased exponentially, he demonstrated his immense strength by demolishing another nearby building with one swing of his arm.

"Kusajishi-fukutaichō, Unohana-san, I have an emergency order—" The man that had appeared was quickly silenced when Kiriumi turned to face him.

"If you value your life at all, I suggest you leave. Now!" A red light surrounded her as her reiatsu flared to heights she wasn't sure she could reach. The man quickly fell back, shaking from the pure power she held.

She then turned her attention back to the battle. Both the captain of the eleventh division and the ryoka's reiatsus were reaching their peaks. They seemed to be preparing for one last strike to finish it all. Somehow Kiriumi found her heartbeat racing. The way Kenpachi looked, covered in blood and seeming to be having the time of his life, it was more than thrilling for the dark haired fourth seat.

The two lunged at each other, running at top speeds and holding their swords offensively. The sheer power of their blades meeting caused the whole area to shake; it almost seemed like an explosion. Everything around her seemed to stop as the fourth seat waited for the dust to clear. Even her breathing stopped. "…Kenpachi…" She muttered, watching the two stand there, each one with their swords stuck in the other.

Ichigo fell to the ground first, apologizing to his friends. But Kenpachi just chuckled. "Hah…What are you apologizing for?" His sword shattered, the end of the blade falling to the ground. "You won…idiot." And with that, he too collapsed.

In a split second Kiriumi was there with them. Kneeling down next to Ichigo she tore off part of her apron and tied it around his main wound. "There, that should hold you until someone can take care of you. I know that you have the power to do great things, Kurosaki-san, so please…just hang on until then, alright?"

Yachiru appeared next to her. "Yeah! Thank you, Ichi-chan. Ken-chan had a lot of fun, so live long enough so you two can play again sometime." The small girl smiled brightly at the half dead ryoka.

"Come on now, Kenpachi." The young fourth seat mumbled, carefully pulling her lover over her shoulder. "Let's go get him cleaned up, okay, Yachiru?"

"'Kay!" She smiled, climbing onto Kiriumi's other shoulder. "Bye-bye, Ichi-chan!" She waved as they disappeared out of sight.

* * *

Now that seems like quite the impressive fight to watch.

"It was so much more…" Kiriumi sighed happily.

* * *

Carefully carrying a try through the halls, Kiriumi hummed happily to herself. It hadn't been much more than two days since Ichigo and Kenpachi fought, but already the eleventh division captain was back on his feet, ready to face the orange haired ryoka again. "Inoue-chan, would you like some tea? It should help revitalize you." She smiled, carrying her tray of tea and cups into the bedroom.

The young human didn't want to seem rude, so she quietly accepted the offered cup. "Thank you."

"Oy, Kiri, what about me?" Ikkaku complained, lounging back in his seat.

"You can get your own, Ikka-kun…" She stopped mid sentence, pushing herself up against the wall for a moment. Ikkaku and Kenpachi were up in a moment, both concerned about the fourth seat. "Sorry," she muttered, standing up properly, "I'm fine now. Though I think I'll be right back."

Yumichika perked up, something was telling him that she wasn't as fine as she claimed to be. "I'll come with you, Kiri-chan."

She could only nod in reply as she rushed out of the room. Followed closely by her friend, she ran all the way to the bathroom, making it just in time to empty her stomach contents into the toilet. The beautiful fifth seat walked over to her to help hold back her hair. "That isn't very beautiful, Kiri-chan." He mentioned, rubbing her back soothingly. "How long has this been going on?"

"I-it's only…been a couple d-days." She stammered, holding the rim of the toilet. "Since I…I went into the—ugh—the sewers…"

"No wonder you're sick then. The sewers are filthy and germ ridden." Yumichika mentioned, turning up his nose at the thought of residing for so long in those sewers. "Perhaps you should pay a visit to Unohana-taichō."

She shook her head, leaning closer to the toilet. "I-I can't right now! There's t-too much going on to go see Nee-san now…"

Sighing in reply, he helped her up to the sink so she could rinse out her mouth. "Alright, but I will make sure you visit her after the ryoka fiasco is done."

"Deal." Kiriumi sighed, rinsing her mouth again. "I think I'm done now. We should go join everybody before they start to worry."

Yumichika nodded, taking her arm to support her slightly. "It might be a bit late for that."

The two entered back into the bedroom, Kiriumi continuing to smile brightly, though this one seemed a bit forced. "Sorry for that, I forgot to turn the burner off for the tea. Now, how is everyone feeling?"

Orihime smiled sweetly at her. "This tea is very good; thank you, Unohana-san."

The fourth seat walked over to the bed, taking a seat next to Kenpachi. "You're very welcome, Inoue-chan." She then turned to the large captain. "Would you like anything, Kenpachi?"

"No." He answered curtly. "Just relax for now."

She nodded in reply, mouthing a quick, "Okay," before laying her head against his arm and giving in to her fatigue. They all conversed for a bit longer, but it all just became background noise for the dark haired fourth seat. Slowly she slipped from consciousness and fell into a world of strange dreams.

* * *

Kiriumi awoke several hours later, lying in a dark room with Kenpachi holding her protectively. She must have been sleeping for a while considering the sky outside the window was just turning a soft pink colour. Pain just seemed to be filling her body; her head was throbbing, her chest was feeling strangely sore, and she felt like vomiting again. Somehow she managed to push down all those feelings and just enjoy the moment she had with her sleeping lover. "Good morning, Kenpachi…" She whispered placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Just then, the sick feeling she had became overwhelming.

The captain awoke just in time to find his subordinate crawling her way over him to run to the bathroom. "Kiriumi?" Swiftly following her to the bathroom he found her hunched over the toilet, throwing up whatever was left in her stomach from the previous night. "You're sick." He mumbled, holding back her hair for her.

"Gah, I'm n-not sick!" She groaned, feeling another wave of nausea hit her. "I…I have to help Rukia! To-today's the day…"

Kenpachi watched her get and walk over to the sink. She rinsed out her mouth and brushed her teeth, carefully getting every spot free of that vomit taste. "You really want to come today?" He asked, following her movements with his visible eye.

The fourth seat spit out the water she was again rinsing her mouth with. "I am coming today. Something this small isn't going to keep me from saving my friend."

Nodding lightly, the large man picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "Then let's go." He grinned, going to find the rest of their little group.

Kiriumi shifted slightly, removing some of the pressure off of her painfully sensitive chest. "Alright." She knew it was going to be a very long day, but at the end of it one innocent person would live to see tomorrow.

* * *

Told ya you shouldn't have been hanging out in those sewers, but did you listen?

"What do you mean? You told me nothing of the sort!" Kiriumi argued, sticking her tongue out at the Narrator.

Oh…Well I was thinkin' it!


	21. Chapter 19

Bah humbug.

"What're you grumbling about now? Not in the Christmas spirit?" Kiriumi asked, watching the Narrator pout.

No, I hate this time of year. Bad weather, bad driving, people with stress levels through the roof, finals, and staying for hours past when scheduled to work…_so much fun…_

"Well, just remember that it's all about being with family and friends, so just try to make the most of it." She smiled sweetly.

Yeah, yeah…

* * *

Ten people ran hopelessly lost through the streets of the Seireitei; six members of the eleventh division accompanied by four ryoka. Kiriumi sighed tiredly; they had been running for a while and had made no progress.

"Ah…" Uryū looked at the fellow group members and chuckled nervously. "Uh…finding ones way around here requires a lot of work."

"Yes!" Orihime added, smiling just as nervously. "It's normal to run into dead ends every couple of minutes!"

Kiriumi shook her head, placing her hand reassuringly on the busty teen. "You don't have to force it; we all know what really happened."

The bald third seat scoffed. "Yeah, this always happens. That's why I hate letting fukutaichō lead." Yumichika and Kiriumi both sighed, ignoring Ikkaku's complaints as Yachiru attacked him for insulting her sense of direction.

Something caught the attention of the beautiful fifth seat. He walked next to his captain and his fellow eleventh divisioner. "…Taichō..."

"…Yeah." Kenpachi replied, frowning at what appeared to be nothing. "You're shameless to sneak around like that, boys! Get the hell out here!! Cowardly hiding your reiatsus and stalking others isn't something that taichō should do!"

"…You sure speak with authority." A voice called.

Kiriumi glared at the hidden captains. "Just show yourself!"

Four people flash stepped onto the roof of the dead end the eleventh divisioners and ryoka had come to. Shūhei, Tōsen, Komamura, and Tetsuzaemon all stared down at the group. "How insolent of you." Tōsen commented, glaring coldly at the fourth seat. "Know your place, Unohana-san."

Kenpachi stood protectively in front of her, hiding her from the views of the other Gotei Thirteen captains and lieutenants. "Don't concern yourself with her."

"Where are you taking the ryoka to?" The ninth division captain glared at Kenpachi instead. "Zaraki, have you lost your pride and righteousness when you lost that fight?"

Panic filled Aramaki as he gaped at the four men that had appeared. "K-Komamura-taichō…Tōsen-taichō…Iba-fukutaichō…and Hisagi-fukutaichō…!! No way…four taichō-level people at once!"

"Calm down, Aramaki!" Kiriumi bit, glaring coldly at the man over her shoulder.

"Yes!" Yumichika added. "Based on the number of people, we have the upper hand!"

His shoulders fell slightly. "Th…that's not the problem…If we stay here, we'll…"

"Stop whimpering!" Kenpachi barked, grinning manically. "Who said that you're gonna fight?" Everyone stared at the large captain in surprise as his reiatsu exploded. "Four versus one…that's not even enough to test my sword with!"

The four of them jumped down, coming closer to the other, larger, group. "Four versus one, you say?" Komamura asked. "In other words, you…want to fight all four of us alone? I know about your strength…However, you think too highly of yourself, Zaraki Kenpachi!"

Kiriumi stepped around her captain and glared at the others. "He isn't being presumptuous if he can back it up!!" She then stepped back, leaving plenty of room for Kenpachi to prepare for the fight. "He'll show the fuck out of you…" The last part was muttered more to herself.

"Just come on and fight already!" Kenpachi shouted, pointing his sword at the four of them. "It's best if all four of you come together, then one of you might actually have a chance at wounding me."

"Ah…" Aramaki nervously rubbed the back of his head. "What should we do, Zaraki-taichō?"

"Shut up!" He muttered. "Go away."

Yachiru shook her head at the grieving eleventh divisioner. "That was bad, mustache guy." Turning her head to her captain, she stared knowingly. "When Ken-chan gets excited, you shouldn't disturb him." A bright smile then covered her features. "Ken-chan! We'll go search for Ichi-chan! Catch up with us soon! C'mon, Kiri-chan!"

The dark haired chef smiled back at her small lieutenant. "You go ahead, Yachiru-chan. I'm gonna stay and watch Kenpachi's fight."

"Okay!" She cheered brightly, taking hold of Orihime's arm and tugging the rest of them off with her in some random direction. "Don't take too long!!"

"Yeah." Kenpachi muttered, not bothering to look back at the group. "Be right there."

"…'Be right there' you said." Tōsen commented, stepping forward a bit to face his fellow captain a bit more directly. "Are you taunting us? Or do you really think that this is possible? Either way you don't seem to have simply lost your pride…you seem to have lost all common sense."

The large captain barked with laughter. "'Common sense'? Ha! Worthless things like those…I've never had them for as long as I can remember!"

Tetsuzaemon and Shūhei stepped forward, both unsheathing their swords. "Taichō, this here…" Tetsuzaemon began.

"Please, let us begin." Shūhei finished.

Kenpachi stared at them irritatedly. "Idiots…I told you all to come at me at once. I knew it…you do look down on me."

Reaching for her sword, Kiriumi sighed. She could handle them, but it really seemed like more of a nuisance. With her throbbing head and still sour stomach she didn't quite feel up to anything. But suddenly, two figures appeared between them and the lieutenants. "In that case…" Yumichika smiled, standing next to Ikkaku.

"We'll have to go first, taichō!" The bald warrior finished, smirking smugly.

Still, Kiriumi couldn't help but smile fondly at her two closest friends. She could hear them rambling on for a moment before Ikkaku and Tetsuzaemon took off in one direction, while Yumichika and Shūhei took off in another. Yawning loudly, Kiriumi flash stepped to the nearest wall to take a seat on the roof. "I'll watch from over here!" She shouted, resting comfortably against the warm roof and watching the battle commence.

Much to her surprise the battle started off with a bang, Komamura quickly releasing his zanpakutō and breaking apart the very ground that they had been standing on, then Tōsen releasing his own weapon and showering them with a barrage of blades. Kiriumi had to jump back to avoid being struck with those blades, but Kenpachi just withstood them all, disappointed in the end that it wouldn't even be enough for a morning workout.

Watching this battle proved to be more work than she had thought it would be. The three of them were constantly destroying the walls that Kiriumi had been resting on, causing her to move from one side of the arena to the other ever so often.

Suddenly, Tōsen moved to release his bankai, causing Komamura to jump a fair distance away from the already rather large arena. The fourth seat had never actually seen, or heard of for that matter, of the dark captain's bankai. So, for safety measures, she quickly jumped away as well, landing soundlessly next to the large seventh division captain. Several rings appeared, surrounding the large arena and causing a large, balloon like barrier to surround it.

"Wh…what's going on…?" She gasped, watching it with a mixture of dread and anticipation.

"It is Tōsen's Enma Kōrogi; a barrier that will leave Zaraki without sight, hearing, smelling, or a sense of reiatsu." Komamura mentioned, not taking his eyes off of the barrier. "No matter what kind of devilish creature your taichō is, he will not be able to survive this."

A defiant glare found its way across her features as she stared over at the seventh division captain. "Kenpachi is not as easy to kill as you assume, Komamura-taichō. I mean no disrespect, but my taichō…he fears nothing, and his strength is boundless. Even if he's surrounded in a world of darkness he won't fear anything, in fact he'll—"

Whatever she was going to say next was cut off as she doubled over, holding her stomach in pain. She leaned over the edge of the path they were standing on and released whatever little was left in her stomach from that morning.

Komamura looked down at her, feeling some compassion for the sick eleventh divisioner. "Don't get so worked up over this, Unohana-san. We'll just have to see who comes out victorious."

Finally finishing, she took a seat leaning against the wall. "R-right…"

The battle raged on for what felt like hours in the mind of the fourth seat, until suddenly the barrier shattered and came crashing down. "Tōsen…!" Komamura mumbled.

Suddenly he too was out in the arena, stopping Kenpachi from administering the final blow to the already injured ninth division captain. Kiriumi watched in amazement as the helmet the seventh division captain wore shattered and he was revealed to have a dog like appearance. But her captain didn't even appear to notice.

Komamura's reiatsu flared to insane heights as he growled out, "Bankai!!" An awe struck look covered her features more as a giant creature formed behind the dog like shinigami. The giant appeared to copy every movement that Komamura made.

The two reiatsus flared as they both prepared to launch attacks. But suddenly they both stopped, and all three looked over at Sōkyoku Hill. "Rukia…" Kiriumi whispered, attempting to stand up but feeling a wave of nausea hit her like a bag of bricks and knock her back down.

Kenpachi jumped over to his lover's side, checking her to make sure she was okay. "Kiri, stop moving." He demanded, ignoring her protests. Komamura took Tōsen and quickly disappeared, most likely heading for the Sōkyoku.

"But Rukia!!" She objected, watching from the distance with a feeling of dread rushing through her.

"Shut up." He muttered, pulling her to rest her head in his lap. "Why're you so worried? You know Ichigo's gonna save her."

Ichigo…That was right! She had completely forgotten about the orange haired ryoka. A wave of ease washed over her as she relaxed into his comforting hold. "You're right…"

Her calm and peaceful moment with Kenpachi was ruined quickly by another friend. "Taichō~! Kiri-chan~! Where are you two?" Apparently the beautiful fifth seat had spotted them. "Ah! There you two are! Taichō, you defeated them already?"

"Nah, that wolf boy just muttered something about 'Genryūsai-sama' and ran off." The large captain grumbled.

"Yamamoto-soutaichō must be fighting. I can feel it." Kiriumi added, yawning lazily as she sat up to greet the fifth seat.

"Ah!" Yumichika chirped. "So that must be why I'm so excited!"

Both Kenpachi and Kiriumi looked back staring strangely at the happy shinigami. He basically seemed to shine. "Oh wow! You didn't even get a scratch on you…I wonder why?" Kiriumi smirked up at him.

She had been one of the few to find out about his…interesting weapon. And though she had been sworn to silence that did not stop her from teasing him at any chance she could obtain. "Just call it beautiful talent." He smiled forcefully, a glare hidden underneath the smile.

Her retort was quickly cut short as she felt more sickness wash over her. The two other eleventh divisioners made a move to help her out, but she simply waved them off. Pushing down all of her queasiness and discomfort, she forced a smile. "I'm fine really."

Yumichika glared at her for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. "No. I'm assuming that this ryoka disaster should be pretty much done with, so I'm taking you to the fourth division."

Looking to her captain for help, she growled in frustration when he simply shrugged. "Fine! I'll go! Just stop being so fussy about a little bit of a stomach virus!" She pouted, finally giving into her beautiful friends pestering.

Kenpachi lifted her up on his back. "I'll take you." He then shot off in the direction of the fourth division, quickly being pursued by the beautiful, but annoying, fifth seat.

* * *

Hehe, I actually had a lot of fun going through the end of the soul society arc again.

"That's good to hear." Kiriumi smiled.

Yeah, and now the brain deadness kicks in, so I think I'm gonna go die now.

"Alright, you have fun with that!" She grinned wider, waving to the Narrator as she hobbled off, running into the wall repeatedly for a couple minutes before she realized there was no door there.


	22. Chapter 20

Wah! My boobs are really sore!

"That's…nice?" Kiriumi stared at the Narrator strangely. "Why are you telling me this?"

Dude, I'm telling everyone this. What can I say? I like to complain.

Ignoring the Narrator's cheeky grin, she rubbed her breast as well. "Now that I think about it mine are to…"

* * *

Maybe it was a good thing she was being taken to the fourth division; along the way Kiriumi began finding it hard to breathe. Kenpachi noticed her breathing becoming irregular, as well as her grip on him fall slack.

"Kiri…!" Yumichika looked over at his friend and his captain. "Taichō…she's fainted…"

Kenpachi frowned in reply, moving even faster. Suddenly a voice began echoing through his head. Still not stopping, he listened intently to what was being said. The fourth division lieutenant told everyone of Aizen's betrayal and him still being alive. Not that he cared that much what was going on, all that mattered was Kiriumi, and if she'd be okay.

Suddenly, the hands around his neck tightened a bit. "Kenpachi…s-stop…"

Halting his movements completely he looked over his shoulder at the sickly woman. "What's wrong?"

"Kiriumi-san…?"

Finally taking notice of the small fourth divisioner he was about to trample, Kenpachi frowned. "You're from the fourth division, right?" He watched the small boy nod before carefully pulling Kiriumi off of his shoulder. "Fix her."

She panted lightly, still breathing irregularly, and forced a small smile for Hanatarō. "…Hi…Hana…"

Immediately, he dropped the small medical bag he carried and rushed to her side. "Kiriumi-san, are you alright?" Placing a hand to her forehead, Hanatarō's eyes widened in surprise; she was burning up. "Her fever is dangerously high, and she seems to be having shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and what appears to be a rash forming on her back and chest…" Staring up at the monstrous captain, his hands seemed to shake. "W-we need U-Unohana-taichō…now!"

Without another word, Kenpachi scooped up his lover gently with one arm, and tossed the small, frazzled boy under the other. "Tell me where she is."

Despite his shaking, Hanatarō swallowed the large lump in his throat and focused on his captain's reiatsu. "Th-that way."

* * *

Softly, two dark blue eyes fluttered open; light blinding them for a moment before her vision cleared. Kiriumi took in her surroundings, trailing her eyes along the bed she was lying in to the window to her left, along the destroyed chairs that sat along the walls opposite the bed, to the door next to those, to her friends who—her friends?

A small smile graced her lips as she watched them; Yumichika sat in the only non demolished chair in the room, his head slumped lightly in sleep. Ikkaku sat on the floor next to his best friend, leaning against the chair and sleeping as well. Yachiru sat idly staring out the window and watching those who passed while chewing on a rather large sucker. And Kenpachi glared cooly at the ground, clenching a piece of broken wood that seemed to be a chair arm in his hand, his other hand gripping the edge of the hospital bed with just as much force.

Careful of the IV drip that was connected to her hand, Kiriumi placed her hand on his. "Hi…" She mouthed; her throat too sore to actually formulate the words.

"Kiri…" He sighed, his intense grip on the bed and the wood lightening. Everyone else seemed to stir and take notice that she was awake. Yachiru made a move to jump into her arms, but Kenpachi caught her before she could. "Not right now."

Yumichika strode over, pulling her into a tight embrace. "We missed you, Kiri…"

As he released her, Ikkaku came over, unsure of what exactly to do. A weak hand took his in hers and she smiled brightly at him. "Kiriumi…" She was so pale, and her body had become even thinner, but…she still seemed to glow when she smiled at her. "Get all better, alright?" Ikkaku and Yumichika made their way out, the beautiful one taking Yachiru in his arms as he went.

Kenpachi got up, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, carefully stroking Kiriumi's cheek with the back of his hand. She really did look like she could break at any moment; she had lost a lot of weight. Her clothes now seemed to hang off of her frame. But that hope that was always in her smile remained ever reassuring. Just that seemed to relax the large captain.

Their silent moment was interrupted by the door opening. "Nee-san-taichō!" Kiriumi's voice cracked as she greeted her sister brightly.

Her sister, however, remained stoic. "Kiriumi, I need to talk to you." The larger captain moved to leave, but Retsu raised her hand to stop him. "And you as well, Zaraki-taichō."

Swallowing a few times to refresh her throat, the younger Unohana's features fell. "Wh-what's wrong, Nee-san?"

"You've been asleep for six days, Kiriumi, please, drink some water first." Making sure her sister drank the entire glass next to her bed, Retsu sighed. "Now, do you know what was wrong with you?"

Shaking her head, the fourth seat stared intently up at the gentle captain. "No…"

"Toxic Shock Syndrome. It's caused by a germ called staphylococcus pyogenes aureus; which I assume you found running through the sewers for so long. It's a disease that can sometimes become fatal, but in this case was actually quite curable…However…" Tension seemed to build up in the eleventh divisioners; something was obviously seriously wrong. "Though you're cured of the disease, there may be some complications in the near future."

"It's not gonna come back, right?" Kenpachi muttered, his grip tightening again on the edge of her bed.

The fourth division captain shook her head, taking a step closer to her sister and fellow captain. "No, the complications won't exactly be about Kiriumi…but about her children."

A silence filled the room, Kiriumi stared blankly at her sister. Her hand carefully rose to her stomach, holding it gently. "…Children…?"

"Yes, while we were treating you I ran an ultrasound. At the moment you are roughly seven weeks pregnant with twins." Moving closer to the bed, she took her sisters free hand. "There was one other thing I was worried about, you've lost so much weight because of the Toxic Shock Syndrome, you'll need to begin gaining it back and more soon, or there could be further problems."

The shock was still ever present on her features as she stroked her stomach lightly. "…Children…" Suddenly, her head snapped up and she looked at her captain and lover. "Kenpachi…We're going to have children…!"

Watching her pale features slowly change to a smile, Kenpachi placed his hand over hers. "Yeah…"

"You'll be Oto-san…a-and I'll be Okaa-san…" Tears of joy had begun to stream down her cheeks, her smile growing brighter still.

The moment was interrupted as a mop of orange hair peeked in through the window. "Is Byakuya here?" Ichigo looked around, stopping for a moment to take in the scene in front of him. "What happened to Kiriumi?"

She turned her smile to him, placing her other hand over Kenpachi's. "We're going to have a baby!"

"Two babies." Retsu corrected, a soft smile covering her features as well.

Ichigo's jaw dropped, his eyes darting between two eleventh division members. "You're going to have _his_ kids?!"

Kenpachi glared, reaching for his sword, but stopping when Kiriumi threw him a disapproving glance. The ryoka's shock grew even more when he saw that he listened to her. "And what's so shocking about that, Kurosaki-kun? Can't imagine the two of us having sex?"

The teens face seemed to pale further and he quickly dropped from the window sill. "Alright, congrats, bye!"

"Hm, I wonder why he ran away like that…" Kiriumi grinned faux innocently as Kenpachi shifted uncomfortably.

"You're getting too much like your Nee-san." He muttered to himself.

"What was that, Zaraki-taichō?" The faux innocent smile had found its way across Retsu's features as well. It was almost scary how similar the two looked.

He inched away from the fourth division captain nervously. "Nothin'…So, when will Kiriumi be well enough to come back to the eleventh division?"

The fourth division captain became serious again. "Not for a while, I'm afraid. Kiriumi needs time to recuperate, and we need to monitor her progress while she does."

Taking her captain's strong hand in her frail one, Kiriumi smiled. "I'll be okay. Take care of the division first." Her grip became a death hold as her features scrunched up. "And, so help me, if anyone sets foot in my kitchen, I won't hesitate to rip them to shreds."

Kenpachi smirked lightly; she was still the same. "Yeah, I'll tell them that."

Retsu turned to take her leave, stopping at the door for a moment. "I'll be back later to run some follow up tests, but at the moment, you have visitors, Kiriumi."

"I do?" Staring curiously at the door, her smile grew as she saw four familiar faces trail in.

"Unohana-sama!!" Chiyoko cried, latching herself onto the edge of the bed and crying into the blanket that was covering Kiriumi. "I-I was so worried about you!!!"

Daisuke too looked like he had been crying, but now smiled brightly at the unhealthy shinigami, wiping away any unwanted tears.

"We're glad to see you're okay." Shiori added, her small smile a bit shakier than usual.

Placing a hand on Shiori's shoulder, Mitsuo cleared his throat. "I-I knew ya'd pull through."

Kenpachi didn't exactly like so many people around Kiriumi right now, but she was glowing with happiness and he couldn't do anything that would take that away.

"So are you okay? It wasn't too serious, right?" Shiori asked, obviously the only one able to form complete sentences aside from Mitsuo.

"I'm fine now, Shiori-chan. In fact…" Her smile became softer as she trailed her fingers along her stomach. "I'm more than okay, I'm going to have a baby!"

"Two brats." Kenpachi corrected.

Hitting him lightly on his arm, Kiriumi laughed. "They're not brats! Is that really what you're gonna call your kids?"

"Che…" He replied, grabbing her hand to stop her light punches. "It's what they are. I already got Yachiru to prove it."

The shock hadn't left any of the academy students faces. "You're…pregnant?" Daisuke asked, staring at her incredulously. She nodded in reply, her features falling a bit as everyone else's remained serious. His features slowly brightened until he had a full smile spread across his features. "Congratulations, Unohana-senpai! I'm so happy for you."

Chiyoko was quickly swallowed up in another wave of tears as she began blabbering about how happy she was for Kiriumi and Kenpachi. The lean brunette took the teary eyed blonde out of the room to help her calm down a bit, flashing a bright smile and a, "Congrats!" before she left.

"That's great!" Mitsuo grinned, leaning against Daisuke. "Sounds like the eleventh division's gonna be one big happy family…So! We'll leave you two to your stuff."

"Thank you, all of you." Smiling calmly and collectedly at the two of them, Kiriumi sighed. "I'm happy to know you guys care."

Taking hold of her fragile hand, Daisuke smiled lovingly at her. "We do care about you, and we always will."

Glaring at the dark haired academy student, Kenpachi let his reiatsu rise a bit. "Yeah, she'll be fine."

Daisuke shook slightly, releasing her hand carefully. "We'll come see you soon, promise."

"I look forward to it." Waiting to be sure they were gone, Kiriumi turned to her lover. "Kenpachi!"

"What?" He grumbled, taking a seat on the bed with her and wrapping his arm protectively around her.

She yawned and snuggled close to him. "You're so mean…Go easy on Daisuke-kun, he's still just a kid…"

Sleep was quickly taking over her, but she felt him place a careful kiss on her forehead. "You're mine, I'm gonna take care of you…"

"Yeah…" She mentioned, her eyes falling closed as she listened to the beating of his heart.

* * *

Well, I love this series, so, so, so, much.

"That's good to know." Kiriumi smiled.

Yep, so now that I'm past the heartbreak thing, and I'm getting past being effin' censored, so I should be good soon.

* * *

Well, now that I've caught up on all my stories on Quizilla, you guys will actually be up to date! Hoorah! So, thanks to all those amazing people who have already reviewed or favorited or even just read any of what I've posted so far. You guys rock!!


	23. Chapter 21

Kids…Cute when they're not screaming, and nothing I want right now.

Kiriumi watched the Narrator, rubbing her stomach gently as she did. "They're so amazing though. The way they see the world can be so different than anything we adults can ever imagine. And now we really will be a family…"

Eh, well you were already like a family before. Just now you'll have three little nut balls instead of just one.

* * *

"Eat it!"

Yumichika sighed, putting his hand to his face so he could rub his temples. It had been just about a week since Kiriumi had woken up, and since they had all heard the good news.

"I don't wanna!! It's making me feel sick!"

At first the beautiful fifth seat was thrilled, but then he thought about how his best friend had to feel. When he found that Ikkaku was just trying to be happy for Kiriumi and Kenpachi, he decided not to push it.

"You're gonna be sick anyway, stupid!! Just freakin' eat it!"

And yet, at times like these, Yumichika had to wonder…why was he even friends with these people?

Kiriumi had finally gained back enough weight to no longer seem like she was dying, but she still had to gain a little bit more before her sister would deem her healthy. Only then would she be released from the fourth division. "I might get sick anyway, but I don't wanna make myself feel worse!" She argued, holding Ikkaku back with her foot.

The bald third seat glared at her; shoving her foot to the side he pushed the plate of grilled fish and rice at her. "Unohana-taichō isn't gonna let you out back to the eleventh division if you don't fuckin' eat! So just eat it!!"

Taking the plate of food from Ikkaku, Yumichika smiled sweetly at Kiriumi. "But if you don't eat then your children won't get the nourishment they need, and that could end up causing more problems for them."

If there was one thing that would get the fourth seat to do anything, it was mentioning her babies. Just as had been expected, she took the plate and, with a pained expression, took a large bite of the fish.

"That's better." Smiling brightly at his friends, the beautiful fifth seat grabbed the trash can and handing it to the pregnant shinigami just in time for her to vomit back everything she'd just eaten.

"T-Told you!" She muttered, taking a moment to settle herself before setting the trash can down.

"Yes," Yumichika took a seat on the bed next to her and gently rub her stomach, "but now you've only thrown up the food you just ate, so any other food you've eaten is there to nourish the beautiful beings growing inside of you."

Sighing lightly, Kiriumi leaned back in the bed she'd been in for the past week. "I guess you're right."

Ikkaku took a seat on the chair next to the bed as he watched her. "Che, aren't you tired of bein' stuck in here?"

"A bit." She chuckled, smiling brightly at her friends. "But Nee-san says I have to stay here until she's sure I'm okay."

"Then it's our duty to help out our friend." The beautiful one smiled.

Before the fourth seat could ask what was going on she found herself being lifted up by Ikkaku as he and Yumichika quickly escaped through the window next to the bed. "I-Ikka!? Stop! Nee-san will get mad!"

"Like I care." He grinned down at her as they ran through the seireitei. "Where're we goin', Yumi?"

Yumichika seemed to take a moment to think about it. "Well, going back to our division might be a bit much…In fact I don't think seireitei is the best place to be at the moment."

Kiriumi clung to her dear friend as they ran. "What about going to an open spot? Just somewhere natural, where I can really feel the fresh air. That'd be nice."

The fifth seat smiled, a soft look on his features as he watched her. She really seemed completely, honestly happy for the first time in a long time. "We'll do whatever you want to do, Kiri-chan."

"Yeah…" Ikkaku added, smiling down at her. He too was more than happy to see her so vibrant and full of life. "Let's go."

* * *

People quivered in fear, running to a place where they would be far away from the intruder in their division. Kenpachi really didn't notice though. He was more caught up in thoughts of his bedridden lover.

"Zaraki-taichō," a voice called him out of his thoughts. Retsu's calm smile greeted him as he turned around. "If you're looking for Kiriumi I'm afraid she's not here."

"She's not here?" The large captain narrowed his eyes, attempting to feel her reiatsu.

Nodding in reply, she opened the door to her sister's room. "Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san were visiting her and decided to leave with her by jumping from the window."

Kenpachi rolled his eyes. "Figures…Do you know which way they went?"

She nodded again. "From what I noticed they were moving toward southern rukongai. After that I don't know where they went."

"Okay…south…" He scratched at his eye patch a bit as he looked around confusedly.

"That way." Retsu smiled, pointing directly straight out of the window.

"Oh…thanks." Nodding in her direction briefly he then proceeded to run out of the division through the before mentioned window, his large stature taking out half of the wall as he did.

* * *

"Alright then, Ikkaku, if you could change one thing about me, what would it be?" Kiriumi looked over at him from her seat on the log. The three of them had found a rather scenic pond in the midst of a large forest. The sun light seemed to shine through the trees causing the water to sparkle. There they had decided to sit around and talk about things, the current topic being what they would change about each other.

"I would make you be in love with me, so we'd be the ones about to have a happy family." Ikkaku thought to himself bitterly.

"Che, I wouldn't wanna change anything 'bout you, Kiri." He grinned, watching her smile widen.

The fourth seat jumped up and ran over to her friend, tackling him in a tight hug. "Aww, Ikka-kun's so sweet!"

Happily hugging her back, he smiled to himself. "Nah, wait. I know what I'd change."

Kiriumi released him and glared up at him for a moment, still lying on top of her friend. "And what would that be?" She muttered dryly.

Taking one of her longer locks of hair in his hand, he tugged it. "I liked it better when you had longer hair. It worked with you."

"I concur." Yumichika added, smiling beautifully at his two friends. "Your beautiful features are perfect for longer hair, just look at Unohana-taichō."

Messily running her fingers through her hair, the fourth seat smiled. "Well, I had been thinking about growing it out again…"

The three were suddenly interrupted when and immense wind blew past them, strong enough to knock over some of the trees around them. "Looks like taichō's found us." Yumichika commented, checking his nails idly.

"Hi, Kenpachi." Kiriumi smiled up at him, happy now that almost the whole family was there.

The captain's look remained flat as he picked up his woman and tossed her over his shoulder. "We're going back to the division."

Yumichika jumped up and grabbed Kenpachi's arm. "Taichō, why so suddenly? And I don't think that's good for the children…"

"Yeah, be careful with Kiriumi!" Ikkaku added, getting up as well.

"Che." He muttered in reply. Carefully, he moved Kiriumi into a bridal style hold. "Alright, we're still going."

The fourth seat opened her mouth to argue, but then noticed just how frustrated he looked and decided against it. "Yumi-chan, Ikka-kun, why don't you guys just go back to the division? I'll be there soon enough."

She could see that Ikkaku wasn't satisfied with that, but Yumichika simply smiled and took hold of his friend's arm. "Alright, Kiri-chan, we'll come visit you again tomorrow if you aren't able to come back home. Come along now, Ikkaku."

Flashing a grateful smile in their direction briefly, she turned her attention back to her captain. "Kenpachi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." His teeth were clenched together, alerting her that he was obviously lying.

Despite her surprise that he had actually made it back to seireitei without getting lost, she was more concerned about what was making him so aggravated. "It's obviously not nothing. What was that? You don't usually get so impatient with me and Yumi-chan and Ikka-kun."

"It's nothing." He muttered.

Though she was nowhere near ready to end that conversation, she remained silent for the moment. They had already made it back to the fourth division. As expected, Retsu was already there waiting. "Hello, Zaraki-taichō, Kiriumi." She greeted, a bright smile on her features.

Kiriumi chuckled nervously. "Hi, Nee-san-taichō, I was just going out with Yumi-chan and Ikka-kun for a bit, I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't have left like that, Kiriumi. We have to keep a close watch on you, to be sure there are no complications." Retsu then turned and began walking down the hall. "Come with me, please."

Kenpachi continued carrying the pregnant shinigami through the halls as he followed the fourth division captain. "Where're we goin'?"

Opening the door they had stopped in front of, the female captain smiled. "To Kiriumi's new room." Sensing the tension between the two, Retsu was quick to excuse herself. "I'll let you two get settle for now. But I will be back later to examine you, Kiriumi."

Once they were alone, Kenpachi let her down. He then pulled her into a tight hug. "You're mine, I'll take care of you." He mumbled, quoting what he had said to her when she first woke up.

Just then it seemed to dawn on her. "Were you…jealous of how I was with Ikkaku?"

He grumbled something unintelligible in reply, but Kiriumi only smiled in reply.

"Kenpachi…you don't have to be jealous of Ikka-kun." She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, looking up at him affectionately. "I know that I used to love him completely, and I still love him today, but he's just my friend. I love Yumi-chan too. And I love Yachiru-chan, Hana-chan, Nee-san, Renji-kun, and Rukia-chan…But there's only one person I love more than all of those other people, and that's you, Kenpachi…"

Kiriumi found herself silenced as her captain crashed his lips against hers, holding her closer as he did. Pushing his tongue into her mouth, he relished the familiar feeling of her body pressed against his. He carefully picked her up, carrying her over to the bed without breaking the kiss.

"Mm…Kenpachi…" She moaned, breaking the kiss as he laid her down. Not even bothering to stop, he moved his kisses downward, slowly untying her sash as he went. "Kenpachi…we can't! N-not here…" Though she wanted to continue arguing, her will power was slowly slipping.

"Why not?" He grinned as pinched her nipples, licking one spot on her neck he knew she couldn't resist. "It's a private room, and I don't think anyone's gonna be coming in if they hear us anyway."

Oh God, why did he have to do that to her? Any common decency she might have had was quickly thrown out the window as lust filled her senses. "Fine…" She groaned, suddenly flipping things around so she was on top of him. "But I call top this time." A grin found its way across her lips as she leaned down and connected hers with his.

That day no one dared come within two miles of that room.

* * *

Uh, yeah, sorry, I woulda gotten this one out sooner, but darn me for having friends!

"Oh wow, you _do_ have friends." Kiriumi joked, sticking her tongue out at the Narrator.

Yeah, and they won't leave me alone!


	24. Chapter 22

I just saw the Face on the Barroom Floor.

"That sounds…interesting?" Kiriumi stared strangely at the Narrator. "I'm not sure I want to know…"

It was. One guy kept sticking out his tongue, and the lead male protagonist was really cute.

"You watch some strange things…"

* * *

Retsu opened the door to the room her sister currently resided. "Kiriumi, visiting time is over. I'm sorry, Ayasegawa-san, Madarame-san, Zaraki-taichō, Kusajishi-fukutaichō, but it's time for all of you to leave."

The mood of the room seemed to fall immediately. "Oh…" Kiriumi forced a smile nonetheless. "Don't worry, I'll be going with you soon enough."

"You've been sayin' that for four weeks…" Ikkaku muttered, getting up to leave anyway.

Yumichika took her hand and flashed a brilliant smile at her. "We're waiting with baited breath until you can return, Kiri-chan."

A flash of pink jumped into her lap, looking around suspiciously for a moment before Yachiru whispered in her ear, "Don't tell Byakushi I'm giving you this, but eat this so you'll get better."

Taking the bun that had been offered to her, she smiled brightly at the young lieutenant. "Thank you, Yachiru-chan; I'm sure this is just what I needed to get better."

Seeming to be satisfied with that, Yachiru jumped over to her spot on her captain's shoulder. "I'll be back later." Kenpachi mentioned, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes.

"Okay." Kiriumi's smile seemed to be a little forced, but she couldn't help the loneliness that seemed to build up inside of her every time she had to watch her friends walk out of that door. She always had a sense of reassurance knowing that Kenpachi would visit her again in the evening, but it still wasn't the same as being home.

The fourth division captain waited for the eleventh divisioners to file out before entering the decent sized room. "How are you feeling?" Retsu asked, running a quick check up on her sister.

"I'm okay. Thanks for taking care of me, Nee-san." She looked down at her hands, placing them carefully on her small stomach.

"You're welcome, Kiriumi." The older looked at the empty tray next to the bed. "I see you ate all of your lunch. That's good."

"Ikka-kun and Yumi-chan wouldn't let me get away with not eating." Kiriumi chuckled, placing the bun onto the tray. "I always end up so full after they visit."

Retsu took the tray and smiled kindly at her younger sister. "That's good. I'm sorry to leave so soon, but I've got some things to attend to."

The forced smile found its way across her lips. "Right, Nee-san. I'm feeling really tired now anyway." She watched her sister silently leave the room; the loneliness becoming stronger.

"Don't worry so much about being alone. You've got the kids," Hoshiyabun's smile seemed to glow brighter than usual, "and me for that matter."

"Yes, but it's not just my friends that I miss. I miss my room, and I miss my kitchen; I miss the way I could walk freely through the halls and instill fear into the hearts of my division members." Kiriumi sighed.

"You can still do that here." The sword spirit pointed out, watching out of the window as fourth division members ran to and fro. "The tiny fourth divisioners seem to hold a healthy fear of the eleventh division."

A small smile found its way across her lips. "Yeah, but I don't wanna be mean to them, they're helping me. Either way it wouldn't be the same as scaring my idiots."

He chuckled as well. "So, so picky. Do you think you're well enough to go back home?"

"I'd like to think so! My morning sickness is already calming down, I'm not feeling _as_ tired as I did, and only about twenty pounds under where I should be. Things are going well." She took notice of how Hoshiyabun began pacing around the room. "And what about you? You seem…tense."

Brushing some stray strands of hair back into place, he stopped. "Sorry, I'm just a little…restless. We haven't fought, or even trained, for months!"

Smacking herself on the head, the fourth seat sighed. "I'm sorry, Hoshiyabun. I haven't exactly been thinking about fighting these days. But I'll definitely at least get some training in with you once I'm home."

He waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I can wait if it will be better for the children."

Kiriumi smiled kindly at her zanpakutō's spirit. "Thank you…"

"Anytime." Hoshiyabun stretched a bit and yawned. "Well, I'm feeling tired so I'm going to leave you for a bit. Get some rest as well."

And with that the spirit faded away. Placing her hands on her already expanding stomach, she sighed. "Yeah, let's get some sleep."

* * *

"What do you mean you're leaving?!" Kiriumi stared incredulously at her two best friends.

Yumichika frowned lightly. "We're not going to be gone for very long. But they need us in Karakura Town; the arrancar have already appeared."

"And you're just going to leave me behind?" Maybe she was being a little over emotional but she needed to have both of them with her. She couldn't go through such big changes without them. "What will I do without you guys?! You have to take me with!"

"Don't be stupid!" Ikkaku snapped, standing up and walking closer to the bed. "We're not taking you anywhere that dangerous."

Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes as she stared at him. "I don't want you to go…"

He felt guilt welling up inside of him for snapping at her. "Che, we'll be back soon, so stop worryin'."

"They're going to set up a communication center in Inoue-san's home, so we can still talk to you." Yumichika offered, smiling brightly.

Kiriumi wiped her eyes and pouted at them. It wasn't like the human world would die if they didn't go with the other shinigami. A movement in her stomach immediately made any anger she felt evaporate. "The babies…!"

"They're letting you know everything will be okay." The fifth seat smiled, placing his hand on her stomach as well. His features fell as the movement stopped. "I can't feel anything."

"Oh, just give them a second." She closed her eyes for a moment, gently rubbing her stomach. "C'mon, kids, show Yumi-oji how much you want him to stay."

Yumichika smiled silently as he felt the movement under his palm. "Ikkaku, feel this…" Taking hold of the bald ones hand he placed it where the light movements were.

His eyes widened at the stirring under his grasp. "They're strong."

"They take after their oji-sans." Kiriumi smiled, caressing her stomach gently. "Nee-san said that others shouldn't be able to feel their movements for a while yet, but they're very strong. They'll fit in perfectly with the family."

"'Course they will! They're eleventh divisioners." Ikkaku grinned, feeling the movement increase.

"You'll have plenty of company, Kiri-chan." Yumichika smiled, taking her hand in his. "So just wait for us to come home."

Staring up at her close friend, Kiriumi smiled wryly. "Okay."

* * *

A light breeze blew through the window, ruffling some of the papers Retsu was looking through. Though she couldn't bring herself to focus on her work when she was so busy worrying about her family. Apparently Kiriumi's weight was going down again. It had been since Ikkaku and Yumichika had left two weeks ago.

"What to do about her…" The kind captain sighed.

"Taichō?" A large mess of grey hair peeked through the door as Isane slowly made her way into the room. "Are you alright?"

Smiling softly at her lieutenant, Retsu cleared her throat. "Yes, Isane, I'm perfectly fine." Her lieutenant had enough problems; Retsu had no need to add to them.

Shuffling her feet nervously, the larger woman looked down. "Um, taichō…about Unohana-san…"

"What about Kiriumi?" Though she didn't mean it to sound cross, her tone was a bit sharp.

Isane shook her head. "Nevermind, it's not important. I'll go, Unohana-taichō."

The breeze blew again, much stronger this time, causing a pile of folders to fall to the floor. Despite the frustration Retsu was feeling at the moment, she bent down and picked up the papers, stopping as she looked at one of the files that had fallen open. "Oh…" Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at the photo. "That's it."

* * *

Jerking her hands uncomfortably, Kiriumi sighed. "I appreciate being out and in the courtyard, but are the binds really necessary?"

Hanatarō laughed nervously. "Well, Unohana-taichō doesn't want you running away, and she knows how you can be."

The two sat in the warmth of the sun, enjoying the heat that was spread all across Soul Society. Even wearing the reiatsu eating binds Kiriumi was simply happy to be out in the world instead of trapped in that confining hospital room. It was now the one month anniversary of when her best friends had left for the human world. Retsu had allowed her to do as she wished today, despite her worry about her slightly malnourished sister.

Placing her bound hands behind her head, Kiriumi laid out on the grass. "I wonder how long the weather will stay so beautiful…I'm happy to have been able to experience such a beautiful day."

"I don't quite think the day's over just yet." Hanatarō smiled lightly, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Kiri-chan!!" A loud shout was heard from across the yard, as Yachiru zoomed over to the other shinigami. "It's time to go, Kiri-chan! We've gotta go now!!"

The small healer smiled kindly and untied the binds. "Go, Kiriumi, they're going to be waiting for you!"

Severely confused about what was going on, Kiriumi decided not to think about it and instead simply follow her energetic lieutenant to wherever she would take her. "Thank you!"

* * *

Waaah! I'm so sorry! Oh frick, I always am.

"You should be!" Kiriumi shouted, thwacking the Narrator on her head. "While you're off with your school and gallivanting with guys we're here waiting for you to start writing again!"

Please forgive me! I didn't mean it! I've been so busy! ¡Lo siento, por favor! See? The schooling is worth it though, I'm actually using Spanish a lot, but sadly I'm not doing so well in my bio class. The scores changed, damnit!!

"What?" Kiriumi looked at the Narrator confusedly.

Uh, nevermind, bad class. Anyway, it might have taken several months, but I did it! One chapter completed! So I hope you guys enjoyed it!

* * *

And completely off topic; do you like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya? And do you like forum role playing? Do you like when the Narrators best friend doesn't beat her ass? Then why don't you join our role playing forum! Check my homepage for a link (if I can get it to work) and join! T'will be a lovely time!


	25. Chapter 23

Isn't summer supposed to be the time when everyone has nothing to do?

"Not when you're an adult." Kiriumi sighed. "Though sometimes you do make me wonder, Narrator."

Haha, that's my job! …Actually I have no job anymore! Freakin' sexual harassment. I hate the dude who bought the store I used to work at.

* * *

Kiriumi sighed loudly; her feet were swollen, her back was aching, and she was losing her patience with the nut ball currently seated on her left shoulder.

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips again. "Yachiru-chan, would you please just tell me where we're going?"

"I know that it's this way!!" Yachiru continued to argue. "We're not that late anyway!"

"You said we needed to be wherever we needed to be two hours ago!" Placing her face in her palms Kiriumi sighed. "Nevermind, I'm just going to go to the eleventh division."

The childish lieutenant's jaw seemed to drop. "How did you guess that's where we're going?!"

Suppressing the urge to yell at the small girl, Kiriumi just laughed instead. "I guess I'm just good at that. We'll be there in a couple minutes."

A peace resonated within Kiriumi the moment she stepped into her division – her home.

"I knew I shoulda come with." Kenpachi's voice was heard behind the two of them, causing Yachiru and Kiriumi to latch onto their best friend and lover respectively.

"Ken-chan!" Yachiru yelled, taking her spot on his right shoulder. "We're not too late, are we, Ken-chan?"

He shook his head, smiling to himself while looking at his lover who was attached to his waist. "Everything was planned ahead; we've still got twenty minutes before we need to go."

"Okay, I am lost and confused, and started to get really pissed off." Kiriumi warned, feeling just about ready to snap. "What's going on? Where are we going?"

No one could blame her for feeling so annoyed, Kenpachi knew that more than anyone. Scooping her up in his arms, he began carrying his lover through the division. "Take it easy." He muttered, cradling her gently. "You'll know what's up very soon."

Though none of her questions had been answered, Kiriumi just decided to melt into his grasps and let her exhaustion take hold of her. Though she'd never say it out loud, everything going on was starting to feel like too much for her handle.

* * *

A rather severe pain in her back woke Kiriumi from her world of dreams. As her eyes fluttered open she found herself in a room she could not recall. Slightly panicked, she looked around the unfamiliar room. She was currently lying on a futon with her head, stomach, and feet all propped with pillows, the room didn't have any windows, but it had a very traditional style to it.

"Kenpachi…?" Kiriumi called, unsure of what else to do.

Within a few moments the pounding footsteps of the large captain could be heard. The door slid open and the massive form of Kenpachi stood there. "So you're finally wake, huh?"

The ever-expanding woman smiled and nodded, allowing him to help her up. "Where are we at?"

"We're in the human world, at Urahara's shop." He mentioned, directing her through the halls to a room with several people seated around a small table. "That weird guy in the hat is the one who owns this place. He said he'd let us stay here as long as we needed."

"Why are we in the human world?" Though she asked the question rather seriously, she was beginning to smile rather widely.

"I think you know why, Kiri." Kenpachi grinned as well. "We can go see them now if you'd like."

Kiriumi looked back into the room with a mocking smile on her features, "What's taking you so long, old man?"

* * *

The door opened and a very energetic young man spun in circles. "Hello—Woah!" His eyes widened as he took in the rather pregnant woman and her extremely large lover. "H-hi, c-c-c-can I hel-help you?" He twittered nervously.

Kiriumi smiled kindly at him and placed her hands on her stomach. "Are Ikka-kun and Yumi-chan here?"

It seemed like all he could do was nod as Kenpachi stared murderously at him. "M-Madarame-san, Ayasegawa-san, v-vi-visitor for you guys." He squeaked.

A growl could be heard from Ikkaku as he rose from his spot on the couch to go to the door. "The fuck're you talkin' about?" Before anymore complaints could be heard from him, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Kiri…"

"Hi, Ikka…" She smiled at him, feeling happy tears filling her eyes.

He ran over to her, taking hold of her arms, as he had no idea what else to do to her. "You've gotten…bigger," was all he could really get out.

There was more movement inside the home as Yumichika walked into the living room. "Was someone calling for…Kiri-chan!" Yumichika fluttered over to the door, pushing Ikkaku out of the way to take hold of Kiriumi and guide her into the household. "Ah, and hello, Kenpachi-taichō, this is a very pleasant surprise. What are the two of you doing here?"

"And where's fukutaichō?" Ikkaku added, finally finding his voice again.

"We're here for her." Kenpachi mentioned, taking a seat next to Kiriumi and wrapping his arm possessively around her.

Kiriumi nodded and looked at her two friends, the slightest pout on her lips. "Yeah, Onee-san still isn't letting me out of the fourth division. And I missed you guys." A large smile spread across her lips. "Although no one decided to tell me I would be going anywhere, I just went where I was told."

It seemed that Kenpachi was the first to notice Ikkaku's odd clothing. "The hell're you wearing?"

Ikkaku made an annoyed grunt, and opened his mouth to retort. However, his retort was cut off when a girl, who looked very similar to the boy that had answered the door walked into the room. "Madarame-kun!!" She shouted, taking a seat next to him on the floor. "And how are you doing right now?" Despite taking her a moment, she eventually noticed the two strangers sitting on her couch. "Who are you people?"

Kiriumi smiled kindly at her. "I'm Unohana Kiriumi, and this is Zaraki Kenpachi. We're here visiting Yumi-chan and Ikka-kun since I haven't seen them in quite a long time."

The girl didn't seem to take kindly to how close Kiriumi was seated to Ikkaku. "I'm Asano Mizuho, and that annoying piece of crap is Asano Keigo."

"O-onee-san." Keigo dramatically whispered, falling on his side.

Giggling quietly, Kiriumi contented herself with being completely oblivious to everyone's, except Yumichika's, discomfort. "Haha, it's okay, Asano-kun. I've got an older sister too. Although my Nee-san is much more over-protective to me rather than mean to me."

Mizuho didn't enjoy Kiriumi's happy nature. "Well!" Yumichika cut off any reaction that was going to come from Mizuho. "I must say, Kiri-chan, you are simply glowing! You're around nineteen weeks now, right? You seem to have grown so much since we've last seen you."

"Yeah, I've gained a lot of weight! Aww, I'm gonna be fat, aren't I?" Her smile quickly fell as she looked at her already wide waist.

"You will be."

Ikkaku and Keigo stared incredulously at Yumichika, while Kenpachi just shook his head, an annoyed look spread across his features. Much to everyone's surprise, Kiriumi let out a hearty laugh. "Ah, Yumi-chan, how I've missed you." The eleventh division members seemed to be more relaxed knowing that the pregnant woman wouldn't be freaking out about her weight. A soft smile found its way to her lips as she placed her hands on her stomach. "I suppose that even if I become permanently disfigured and fat from this, giving birth to these kids would make everything worth it."

A soft smile found its way to Yumichika's lips. "And that is a very nice sentiment."

She giggled in reply. "You think so? I kinda just think it's really sappy."

Ikkaku grinned, yanking a lock of Kiriumi's hair. "You are a real sap. But you're a sap that's gonna make one hell of a mother."

* * *

"Ngh…" A groan vibrated through Kiriumi's throat as she stretched out on the futon she was sleeping on. The pain in her back had disturbed her sleep, and she felt the need to get up and stretch a bit more.

Snoring was heard from the large form lying on the futon as well. Kenpachi was sleeping soundly, obviously exhausted. He explained to her earlier how he'd been working with Retsu to allow Kiriumi to come to the human world, which was apparently a much harder task then one would assume.

Kiriumi smiled softly as she looked down at Kenpachi. Placing a light kiss on his cheek, she whispered a sweet, "I love you," and quietly walked out of the room.

She avoided Keisuke and Yoruichi, sneaking out of a back door, and heading into the city.

"…And if that mocking bird don't sing, 'kaa-san's gonna buy you a diamond ring…" Kiriumi sang softly to her stomach, as she walked while lovingly rubbing it. "…And if that diamond ring--" The formerly dark and dry street was suddenly covered with extremely sharp icicles. Swiftly disappearing, Kiriumi reappeared on the top of a nearby building, safely above the countless points on the street.

"Still quick as ever, I see, Unohana. You've become quite the fat ass during our time apart though." A voice hissed, disdainfully.

Kiriumi stared wide eyed at the woman standing in front of her. Tan skin, black hair, hazel eyes… "H…Hitomi-chan?"

Blood dripped down Kiriumi's cheek, followed by a slight pain. The woman snarled at her. "How dare you fucking use that name?! You act like you know me, but you don't!!"

"Wh-why are you doing this? You were dead!!"

"That's what you thought." She continued glowering at Kiriumi, circling her and holding up a small knife. "I thought everything was over, and it was, until someone rejuvenated me."

"Who?!" Kiriumi stepped toward her, holding her hands defensively over her stomach. "Hitomi-chan, you need to put your weapon away. I'm here, I can help you!"

Hoshiyabun was quickly removed from his sheath and used to block Hitomi's attack. "You're a liar!!! It's your fault that they're dead!! Satoru, Noriko, Akito, Rin…All of them are dead because of you!!"

She stared at Hitomi with tear-filled eyes. "I-I didn't…I couldn't…It was out of my hands…"

"You liar!! That's all you do is lie! I lost my family, my child, my friends, and now I'm going to make sure you lose so much more than that."

An ominous presence made the air heavy, making Kiriumi fall to her knees. "Hitomi-chan…I'm so-"

"Shut up. Your words mean nothing to me." Hitomi snapped.

A very strong reiatsu covered Kiriumi, helping to calm her down as Kenpachi helped her up. "Who the fuck're you?" He glared at Hitomi.

"None of your fucking business." She glared back. She then turned her evil look towards Kiriumi. "This isn't fucking over! And next time I won't be so nice…"

There was a flash of bright light, and she disappeared. Anything that Kenpachi said to Kiriumi went unheard; the whole world was silent to her. She could do nothing but stare blankly where Hitomi formerly stood, and ask herself what had gone wrong.

* * *

Waaah, this story hates me!

"Ah, don't be such a baby." Kiriumi said, trying to force a smile. "You're still writing it, aren't you?"

I guess…Eh, well, I work on it when I can. And being sick is a great chance to work on it!

Kiriumi pulled out Hoshiyabun. "Stay away!!! No sickness!!"


	26. Chapter 24

Kiriumi yawned, rubbing the side of her face. "I'm exhausted. Who knew having brats kicking around in your stomach could make you so tired?"

Who knew life could make you feel genocidal? Or wait, that's just school. I will destroy all my minions!!

"…You have fun with that."

* * *

"And what was this presence you felt?" Kisuke had been questioning Kiriumi since she woke up in the morning, and it was starting to piss her off.

Raking her hand through her hair, Kiriumi huffed. "I don't know, alright? It felt like a reiatsu, but it was something else entirely."

Kenpachi glared at Keisuke, taking hold of Kiriumi and getting up to leave. "That's enough. We're leaving."

Before the two could make it out of Urahara Shouten, Ikkaku and Yumichika showed up. "Kiri!" Ikkaku called, rushing over to his only love. Noticing the scab that had formed over the on her cheek, he felt anger and fear filling him. "How did that happen?!"

"Now, Ikkaku-kun, I think you're overreacting a bit." Yumichika mentioned, pushing past him to get a close look at the cut. "Kiri-chan, you really should at least get that dressed properly.

"No need," she assured them, "I've been healing incredibly fast lately. I think it's the kids' doing. They've been trying to help me out lately."

Both Ikkaku and Yumichika frowned. "That's a good thing. So why do you look upset?" The prettier of the two asked, cocking his head to the side.

The largely unnoticed captain finally spoke up. "She knew her attacker."

"It had to have been a mistake! Hitomi-chan would never attack me under normal circumstances!" Kiriumi was still unwilling to believe it was Hitomi's choice to harm her.

Taking hold of her shoulders, Kenpachi looked into her eyes. "She attacked you, Kiriumi, while saying she hated you."

Her eyes darted back and forth as if searching for the answer. "It couldn't have been her fault…"

"We won't go into this." He stated, taking hold of her hand and pulling her past their two friends. "We're also going back to Soul Society."

Ikkaku seemed to perk up at that. "Will she be safe there?"

"We're assuming so." Kenpachi muttered, stopping and turning around to talk to his subordinate. "Before you even ask, you're gonna stay here, both of you. The arrancar are still the top concern."

Yumichika nodded, holding back Ikkaku before he could argue. "Of course, taichō."

The pairs said their goodbyes, and Ikkaku and Yumichika were left standing in the entrance to Urahara Shouten. Though he couldn't be sure why Ikkaku had been acting so strange lately, Yumichika sighed. "Ikkaku, you need to relax about Kiri-chan. I swear, you're acting like a dog who's ready to jump at any sign of danger to your master."

"Hey, Kiri needs protection! You just saw what happened after she was attacked, what if the attacker had gone for something more serious? Gone for the heart, or the throat? Or what if they'd tried to hurt the kids?! That would have hurt Kiri much worse than any physical pain ever could!" Ikkaku bit back.

"I know that," Yumichika sighed, rubbing his temples carefully. "But we still need to focus on our mission here."

The clip-cloping sound of Keisuke's clogs alerted the two of the new presence. "I know the two of you are here for the arrancar, but I would like to solicit your help to look for the presence that Unohana-san described to me…"

* * *

Kiriumi sighed and tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. "How long are we gonna need to wait here?" She asked, looking to her lover then to her sister for some sort of reply.

"It's not clear, Kiriumi." Retsu replied, patting her sister's hand softly.

Awkwardly shuffling her feet, Kiriumi looked to Kenpachi. "So, why did Yamamoto-sōtaichō ask to meet with me?"

Kenpachi shrugged, looking down at her boredly. "'Dunno. You filed the report about the incident in the human world, right?"

Though she frowned at the memory of the attack, she nodded. "I filed it as soon as we got home. It shouldn't have taken them two weeks to react to an attack though. And even if they just were reacting to it now, they wouldn't have reacted so drastically."

The silence became a bit heavy. Both Kenpachi and Retsu had already come to the same conclusion as Kiriumi had; it was extremely strange that Yamamoto was so interested in Kiriumi's attack _now_. But, no one wanted to think too much about it anyway. Kiriumi made a habit of becoming depressed every time someone brought up the incident, so the topic had become somewhat taboo among her family and friends.

"Even the kids have stopped their movement. No one's happy with all of this waiting." Her expanded waist took away the emphasis of her childish pout. "We wanna go home!"

Kenpachi chuckled at her immature comments. "Yeah, me too." Lazily turning his eyes to the door, the captain let out an annoyed sigh. "If that old man doesn't tell us why we're here soon, we're just leaving."

The evil, but kindly masked, smile of Retsu turned to the two. "Now, I'm certain the two of you were not discussing leaving before Yamamoto-sōtaichō briefed us…"

The two eleventh division members cleared their throats simultaneously. "Of course not, Onee-san!" Kiriumi laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her head. Oh, God, her sister was so intimidating. Even Kenpachi seemed nervous when she gave that look. "We're just talking about what we wish we could do."

Retsu's smile fell. "I know you want to go back to the eleventh division, but you still are due for a checkup. I'll be ready to examine you and the children after this meeting."

"I know, 'nee-san." The young chef grinned, not wishing to make her sister feel she didn't enjoy spending time with her. Even if the only time she really spent with her was when she was being examined. "Oh! Hey, 'nee-san, can we find out the gender of the babies today?"

"Yes, right about now should be the optimal time to look for the genders." A soft smile found its way to her lips. "Are you eager to discover just who is growing inside of you?"

Kiriumi nodded enthusiastically. "I've already got a couple names in mind! I wanna know if I should be leaning towards girls' names or boys' names." Looking over at the father, she grinned nervously. "Well, as long as you don't mind, Kenpachi."

His indifferent look made her grin. "Whatever you want."

"Yay!" The simple elation she felt was very childish, but she knew exactly what her babies were gonna be called. "Do you wanna know the names I've picked?"

Kenpachi shrugged, inwardly smiling at her enthusiasm. "Sure."

Her expression seemed very thoughtful for a moment. "Well, my first choice for a boy's name is Kenichi, 'cause I know he's gonna be just as strong as his otou-san, and just as brave as Kurosaki-san. My next choice would be to name him Daikoto, but only if he's the younger boy. And if it's a girl I hope she'd be as strong as my 'nee-san, so I'll call her Retsu. And if I have another little girl I'll name her Yurini."

Retsu smiled softly at her sister, caringly rubbing her back. "It seems someone's been thinking deeply about this."

A truly happy smile was her only reply as the door to Yamamoto's office opened. "Yamamoto-sōtaichō will see you now." Chōjirō stated, standing by the doorway to direct the three guests in.

The three walked into the large office; neither Kenpachi nor Retsu seemed at all impressed by the size, but it was Kiriumi's first time being in the captain-commanders room, and she was awestruck. Not only was she shocked by the size, she felt slightly intimidated. The captain-commanders chair was extremely large when compared to the only slightly larger than usual desk, and the three chairs that were set in front of the desk were minute in comparison to anything else in the room.

"Unohana Kiriumi, do you know why you've been called here today?" Yamamoto asked her, lazily lounging in his seat.

"Well, honestly I'm not sure. Does it have anything to do with my encounter with Hitomi-chan in the human realm?" Kiriumi rang her hands behind her back as she looked at her feet. It wasn't something she liked to bring up, and she hated it even more when people would say that she was attacked by Hitomi. It couldn't have been Hitomi's fault, she had to have been controlled by someone else; she just had to have been!

"This may be connected to the attack." Kiriumi winced as he used that term, but Yamamoto ignored her and picked up a letter that had been sitting on his desk. "_Unohana Kiriumi must learn the true meaning of suffering. Either hand her over to us, or kill her yourself. Either way someone will die._ It's signed by a person named Hitomi."

All color left Kiriumi's face. Nothing but shock filled her. She blinked back tears knowing it was neither the time nor the place for crying. She willed her voice to remain even. "…How did you receive this?"

"Yes, Yamamoto-sōtaichō, how did you come across this document without knowing who gave it to you?" Retsu asked, her features more determined than before.

Placing the letter back on his desk, Yamamoto leaned forward. "A path between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society opened last night, and a deceased member of the seventh division was pushed through with the note attached to him."

Kenpachi finally spoke up as he rose from his seat. "Why didn't ya send any fuckin' people to check it out?" He was obviously angry, but he relaxed slightly as Kiriumi stood next to him and took hold of a loose fold of his hakama.

"How could this happen? I didn't think anyone could penetrate Soul Society so easily. Where did they get through to?" The questions were becoming less inquisitive and more demanding by the minute. Kiriumi didn't care to watch how she spoke the captain-commander anymore.

"The body was found in the second division's courtyard. Soifon and her fukutaichō were the first to touch the body, but not the first to find it. However, there was still no time to examine the path." Yamamoto looked at the letter once more "There is no need to worry; I refuse to give in to these demands. But, we will not bestow mercy upon this Hitomi."

Kiriumi choked down her anger and nodded. "You do what you must, sōtaichō, but I'm going to save her. Hitomi will see what she's been doing is wrong, and she'll apologize, and she'll come and stay with me so she can be safe. I won't let her die though."

"Think, Unohana. If you interfere, you'll be labeled as a traitor and we will be against you as well." Yamamoto warned, standing from his seat as well.

"I'll take that chance." She sneered, turning heel and leaving, quickly being followed by her sister and lover.

* * *

"There's no way I'm gonna let anything happen to my friend!" Kiriumi huffed, agitatedly tapping her foot on the floor.

Yeah, that's just proving that you're just as dumb as Ichigo…Which means you're a good friend.

"Yeah, I think anyone would be making the same choice as me if it was someone they really cared about." She nodded, looking at the pictures of friends scattered across the Narrator's desk.


	27. Chapter 25

"It sucks being pregnant sometimes." Kiriumi complained, adjusting the pillow she'd propped behind her back.

Well there are…alternatives…

A pillow impaled the Narrator's head. "No!"

Ow, that's just what I'm studying! Leave me alone!

* * *

All around seireitei rumbles could be heard. Or at least in the eleventh division…

"I don't give a shit, you're not coming."

"Oh, but you're allowed to go off and do whatever you want?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

It was Kenpachi's day to leave for Hueco Mundo, and Kiriumi's first time hearing of it.

"What?! That's ridiculous! Mr. I-like-to-fight-so-I-can-do-it-whenever-I-want-but-I'm-not-gonna-let-Kiriumi-do-it-because-I'm-an-ass-face gets to make the final decision? I don't think so!" Kiriumi huffed, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head.

"Kiri, just stay here." Kenpachi wasn't quite in the mood for arguing, but was beginning to get angry himself.

"I don't want to! Do you know how much I miss fighting? I haven't even released my zanpakutō in over seven months!" She threw her hands above her head and turned around to lean against the counter of her kitchen.

Kenpachi sized up her large stomach. "And there's a reason for that."

Attempting to cover her stomach, Kiriumi turned her nose up. "This is your fault too, y'know!"

"You still ain't coming with me, and that's that."

A groan vibrated through her throat; the kids really hated when she was under stress. And she'd definitely been under stress since Hitomi's note. However, it was surprising that there hadn't been any sort of contact from her since the note that had been found in the second division. It made her more stressed not knowing what Hitomi was up to now, but there wasn't exactly anything she could do.

She sneered at him. "I'm not staying here, and that's that."

Kenpachi pounded his fist into the wall, leaving a large hole in it. "Look, you're over-emotional and fat and you're just going to get in the way."

"Did you just call me fat!?"

That shout could be heard clearly throughout the entire seireitei.

"Could you stop screaming? I've got a fuckin' headache now." He asked, nonchalantly picking his ear.

"You just called me fucking fat! And I'm not over-emotional, I'm fucking pissed off!" Kiriumi glared daggers at him, ignoring the pain in her stomach.

"Ken-chan!" Yachiru seemed to sing as she trotted into the small kitchen. "It's almost time to go, are you ready yet?"

Kiriumi's face turned red with anger. "What the hell?! You won't take me, but Yachiru-chan gets to go?!"

A loud sigh was heard from Kenpachi as he rubbed his eyes. "I'll see you when I get back." He attempted to leave with Yachiru but Kiriumi grabbed his arm.

"Okay, I'm giving you two choices: one, you take me with you without a fight, or two, you leave me here and I go with Ikka-kun and Yumi-chan to defend Karakura Town. And I'm sure if Aizen's gonna take it to Karakura Town he'll be taking the big guns with him."

* * *

The false sun was obnoxiously bright for Hueco Mundo. The sand kept getting in her socks too. Kiriumi had to ask herself, why had she wanted to come here again?

Well, it was refreshing to have Hoshiyabun at her side again. And she guessed it was very stress relieving for Kenpachi to fight a powerful enemy at his full power as well. Even getting out of the eleventh division was refreshing to her. But she knew what the real reason was.

It was her hope that Hitomi was here in Hueco Mundo.

Kiriumi watched the fight with mild interest. She knew it was going to end soon, and she knew that Kenpachi was going to win. What she couldn't help was thinking about Hitomi and searching for her reiatsu.

"Hey, Kurosaki-kun, can you look after Yachiru and Kenpachi for me?" Kiriumi asked, slinking over to Ichigo and Orihime.

"U-Unohana-san?!" Orihime exclaimed, taking notice of the very pregnant woman. "You're so…so…"

"Holy crap, Kiriumi-san, you got fat!" Ichigo exclaimed.

Kiriumi smiled dangerously and took Ichigo's face between her hands and stretched his cheeks. "I'm not fat. I've got two fucking children inside of me."

"Otay, otay, I wowwy!" Ichigo mumbled, attempting to pull himself from the pregnant woman's powerful grasps. After she released him he became more serious. "Why are you asking me to look after those two?"

She paused for a moment and hesitated over whether to lie or tell him the truth. "I need to find someone…And I think she's here."

Surprisingly that seemed enough for Ichigo. "Alright. Be careful."

A sweet smile crossed her features. "Thanks, Kurosaki-kun. Sincerely." And with that she was off. Though she wasn't sure where to begin, she knew she had a long way to go.

* * *

Las Noches was large. Much larger than she'd first expected. All the corridors were long and intertwining, there were no signs as to where she'd been before either. But Kiriumi pressed onward. Like the stubborn dummy she was.

Hoshiyabun walked next to her, peering around corners they passed. "She's not here. You realize this, right?"

"I do know that." She sighed, pushing open doors she passed as she continued speed walking through the extensive hall. "But I'm just so confused. Why would Hitomi send such a threatening message and then just disappear?"

Eying Kiriumi carefully Hoshiyabun shook his head. "So now you believe it was Hitomi who sent the note?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no, no! It couldn't have been Hitomi!" The two stopped in the midst of the hall as she leaned against the wall. "At least, she wouldn't have done it willingly."

A sad smile worked its way across his lips. "You really believe she's innocent."

"Of course she is!" Kiriumi nodded, almost as if she were trying to convince herself of that fact. "I knew Hitomi for many years. She was so much like Onee-san, very kind and strong, always tending to others and never letting anyone see her in a moment of weakness. I was still so young when I became a member of the village and I was so scared. I remember it so vibrantly."

_Shadows lined the face of a very young girl. She couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve by the standards of humans. But in reality she'd lived for more than fifty years. In her heart she was still nothing more than a terrified child, hiding in shed, praying to whatever was out there that the bandits she'd been running from wouldn't find her._

_Soft footsteps made their way to the shed, causing more fear to flow through the young girl. The door opened and a soft smile glowed faintly at the dark eyes that were covered by a mop of long black hair._

"_Hey there, little one." Hazel eyes locked with the child's much darker ones. "You're okay here, this village is a safe place for everyone." A tan hand reached out to help up the young girl, but she flinched away from the touch. The young woman smiled wider nonetheless. "My name's Hitomi, what's yours?"_

_The child sniffled and looked up at the other. "I…I'm Kiriumi. Have you seen my Onee-san?"_

_Hitomi furrowed her brow in thought. "I don't think I've seen any others come through here lately, but I'm sure your Onee-san is alright. I bet she's looking for you right now."_

_The little Kiriumi choked on a sob. "I m-miss my 'Nee-s-saaaaan!" It was then that she finally broke down and latched onto Hitomi, crying loudly into her chest._

"_It's alright, Kiriumi-chan, just let it all out." She soothed, picking up the smaller girl and carrying her into the warm home she shared with the oldest man in the village, her grandfather Satoru. "We'll take care of you, don't you worry."_

Hoshiyabun watched his partner with concern. "Kiriumi, I don't think the middle of Las Noches is the best place to space out." He reminded her, scanning the hall for any other form of life.

"Oh! You're right, thanks, Hoshiyabun." Kiriumi muttered, placing a hand to her head. "We should continue on, or at least go back to Kenpachi and Yachiru."

The sword spirit chuckled as he looked around the hall again. "The next question being where is Kenpachi and Yachiru. Did you bother to keep track of the path you took?"

A secretive smile slipped across her lips as she peacefully closed her eyes. "As a matter of fact…I didn't."

Hoshiyabun fell over in disappointment, staring at Kiriumi as if she were an idiot. "You idiotic shinigami…What are we gonna do now?!"

"Hey now," Kiriumi pursed her lips and glared at the sword spirit, "Don't use that kind of language around the kids. They can hear even in my tummy." A smile worked its way over her features as she looked down and poked at her large stomach. "In fact whenever anyone talks in a negative manner they get upset and kick a lot."

"Ah, I bet they don't know what the people are saying, it's all about how they say it." He added, nodding matter-of-factly. "They can't actually understand what we're saying, it's just not possible."

"I'd have to disagree," She pressed, feeling the babies in her stomach stirring obnoxiously. "The kids have acted up while Kenpachi and I had a quiet argument."

"So you think they understood your argument?"

Kiriumi smiled and rubbed her stomach, hoping to soothe the children. "No, not even that, I think they understand reiatsu. They come from two people who love to fight, and who can be read clearly through their reiatsu control. When people are upset they usually release more than when they're calm and relaxing."

Hoshiyabun stared peacefully at Kiriumi, particularly her stomach, a soft smile on his lips. "Sounds like you've got some pretty smart kids already."

"Darn strait, I do." She laughed, patting the sword on her hip. "C'mon, Hoshiyabun, let's go find our way back to Kenpachi and the others." The sword spirit smiled and nodded, trailing beside his partner.

* * *

The original spot Kenpachi was battling the tall arrancar at no longer held anything other than the rubble the battle left behind as well as the corpse of that arrancar and his fracción. Kenpachi's reiatsu was no longer flaring, but Kiriumi could still feel something resonating from him. "How did he end up so far away?" She inquired to herself, looking in the direction she felt him.

Ignoring the dull throbbing she felt in her back, her feet, her cervix, hell, pretty much everywhere, she shot off towards the familiar reiatsu.

Upon seeing his lover Kenpachi practically jumped to his feet. "Kiri, where did you go?"

However Kiriumi was much more interested in the mammoth of a monster that Kenpachi and Byakuya stood around. Obviously they had defeated it. "I didn't really go anywhere, just a walk." She mumbled, leaning around the large shinigami to look at the arrancar. "What happened here?"

Kenpachi looked at the fallen enemy and shrugged. "What else? Murder and mayhem. More importantly you shouldn't go off on your own."

"I was fine, Kenpachi, I had Hoshiyabun with me." She attempted to reassure him by holding her sword closer to her.

"I know what you were doing. You were looking for that Hitomi." He muttered, frowning down at her. "She isn't here. You shouldn't be out looking for her like this anyway. Just take your days one at a time."

Kiriumi smiled sweetly at him, seeing how he obviously cared about her through such small actions. "Thanks, Kenpachi, I will. Now can we go home?" She asked, leaning against his chest and sighing.

Kenpachi smiled for a moment in reply. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Another completed chapter? This is almost getting scary! Just one more story to update and I'll be alright.

"Ha, like you'll ever be alright." Kiriumi huffed, pushing the Narrator. "We all know you and your update style."

What? You know I'm completely innocent! I just update when I can.

"Yeah, yeah."


	28. Chapter 26

"Narrator…what are you doing?" Kiriumi asked, cocking her head in the Narrators direction.

There is nothing wrong with trying to learn how to sleep hanging upside down in a closet.

Despite the Narrator's attempt to defend her position Kiriumi just shook her head. "What an idiot…"

Better than being a fatty!

* * *

Pains shot through her body, mostly the lower half of her body, waking her from her sound sleep. Kiriumi groaned and placed her hands on her stomach, feeling contractions alerting her of the arrivals she was about to receive.

"Ah, Kenpachi! Wake up, you lazy ass hole, I gotta get to my 'Nee-san." She complained, jabbing him forcefully in the side.

A grunt came from the gigantic shinigami as he rolled over to look at his lover. "What are you complaining about now? Can't this wait until morning?"

Kiriumi's face scrunched up as she felt another contraction causing her pain. "You wanna tell the kids they gotta wait until morning so you can get your beauty sleep? I don't think they're that apt at listening yet."

"You're going into labor now?" He asked, suddenly much more interested in his late night wake up call.

"Gah, Yumichika! Ikkaku!" She shouted, fed up with Kenpachi's need for explanations. "Somebody get me to the friggin' fourth division before the kids pop out right here!"

Within a matter of seconds a distressed looking Ikkaku stood in the doorway, followed soon by a perfectly pampered Yumichika. "Wh-what are you talking about, Kiri?" Ikkaku panted, staring at the her as she held her stomach in pain.

She opened her mouth to shout at him as well, but Yumichika beat her to it. "What is wrong with you, Ikkaku? No questions, let's get her to her sister _now_."

"Thank you, Yumi-chan." Kiriumi smiled up at him, allowing Kenpachi to pick her up and start off on their midnight run to the endlessly busy fourth division.

* * *

Ikkaku paced restlessly, occasionally peering in the direction Retsu had taken Kiriumi in. "How long do these things usually last again?"

"Giving birth?" Yumichika replied sarcastically. "I'm not sure we can place a time limit on this sort of thing, Ikka. Just sit down and wait it out with me."

Making no move to stop pacing Ikkaku shrugged. "I can't sit down. I don't know what's happening to her right now. Aren't there times when mothers die havin' kids?"

Now the radiant man stood and walked over to his friend. "Ikkaku…" Yumichika smiled deceivingly as he punched Ikkaku in the face, causing his friend to fall over. "Did you really just suggest that Kiriumi would die any time soon?"

Ikkaku held his now somewhat sore cheek as he looked up at Yumichika. "Yeah, I dunno what was wrong with me either."

"I'll say," Yumichika sighed, taking a seat once again. "Although I will forewarn you that the birthing process can take over twenty-four hours; not that that's very likely for Kiriumi."

A dumbstruck look fell over the bald man's features. "Tw-twenty-four hours?" His disbelief caused a small chuckle to escape from Yumichika's lips. "Can't we make this any easier for her?"

"It's nice of you to wish we could help, Ikka, but all we can do is wait for Kiriumi to tough this out." He smiled reassuringly at the other.

Both found their attention snapping back to the direction Kiriumi had been taken as there were now loud, and very angry shouts coming from that direction. To the surprise of both the third and fifth seats they saw their captain sulking in their directions.

Ikkaku was the first to speak up. "Taichō, what happened? Is Kiri alright?"

Kenpachi just glared at his underling and sat down in one of the very uncomfortable chairs they stuffed in the cramped waiting area.

"Please, taichō, we'd like an update on Kiriumi. Also I'd like to know how you made it past twenty minutes before they kicked you out." Yumichika stated with a sickly sweet smile plastered across his lips.

"Shut up." Kenpachi replied, running his hands through his flat, non-intimidating hair.

The third seat walked over to his captain and sat down next to him. "Kenpachi, what's going on with Kiriumi?"

"You guys ain't gonna shut your traps, are you?" He sighed, looking at the both of them.

"Not without knowing what's going on." Yumichika smiled triumphantly knowing his captain was going to give in.

"Kiri's fine." Kenpachi mumbled, glaring at the pristine wood floors. "She's actually handling this better than anyone else in that room. Definitely one of us, not even cryin' or nothin'."

Both seemed confused. "Then why'd they kick you out, taichō?" Ikkaku asked.

Kenpachi tensed and glared harder at the wood floor that seemed to have attracted all of his hatred. "Unohana-taichō. She's fuckin' crazy now, all yelling and shit. It's like Kiri and her switched bodies or something."

Just the thought of Retsu acting like her younger sister was enough to send a chill down both Ikkaku and Yumichika's spines. "So no one's going anywhere near that room until it's over." Yumichika stated, nodding assuredly at his own comment.

"You couldn't pay me to go back there." Kenpachi added.

"So what are we all gonna do then?" Ikkaku asked, looking at the two other men.

All looked away thoughtfully.

* * *

Two hours in the fourth division.

Kenpachi paced in circles around the small waiting area. He was closely followed by Ikkaku who'd fallen into the same stride. As Ikkaku followed his captain, Yumichika followed Ikkaku as he had grown tired of sitting around in wait for news of Kiriumi's condition to get to them. But still, nothing came as they all continued to pace.

* * *

Five hours in the fourth division.

Yumichika stared boredly as Kenpachi and Ikkaku took turns punching each other in their respective arms.

"Why do I bear the company of such idiots?" He thought silently as the two continued punching each other.

* * *

Seven hours in the fourth division.

Slouching in one of the uncomfortable chairs, Yumichika dozed in and out of consciousness. A loud snore from across the tiny room stirred him from his half-assed rest.

Kenpachi twitched in his sleep, leaning his head in a different direction and releasing another beastly snore.

It was no wonder they'd been left alone by the many other people waiting for their friends and loved ones to be allowed visitors.

Ikkaku sighed loudly to himself. He currently lay across five of the uncomfortable chairs and stared blankly at the ceiling. Loudly he heaved another sigh.

"Why's baldy sighing so much?" Yachiru asked as she waltzed into the confined area.

Yumichika sprung from his seat and stared at Yachiru. "Oh, fukutaichō, there you are." Yawning lightly to himself he looked to Ikkaku. "Ikkaku, you shouldn't lay like that."

"Shut up, Yumi." Ikkaku huffed, sitting upright.

"Where's Kiri-chan?" Yachiru asked, taking a seat next to Yumichika. "I know she's somewhere around here."

Taking a moment to decide how to phrase it, Yumichika smiled at his young lieutenant. "Kiri-chan's becoming a mother now."

A satisfied smile found its way to Yumichika's lips as Yachiru's young face lit up. "Kiri's a mommy now? Yay! I wanna go see the babies!"

"Wait, fukutaichō, you gotta wait!" Ikkaku shouted, running after Yachiru as she shot off in search of the room Kiri was being kept in.

"Kiri-chan?" Yachiru asked opening a random door only to receive a shriek from its occupant. "Nope, not Kiri-chan." Thus she moved to the next door to repeat the process.

Ikkaku trailed behind her, attempting to take hold of his speedy young lieutenant. "Fukutaichō, you can't just open every door you come across!"

Yumichika followed the both of them, stopping to apologize at each and every door Yachiru opened. "Yachiru-fukutaichō, it's your fourth door on your right."

Rushing to the fourth door Yachiru slid it open to reveal Kiriumi. "Kiri-chan, you're…"

The bald third seat finally caught up to his vice captain in time to pick her up, but not soon enough to prevent him from seeing…

"Just one more push and you'll have the first one done." Retsu assured her sister as she held her hand. Kiriumi strained as she gave her all in that push. There was a bit of fussing over the child and finally some crying. "Congratulations, you have a baby girl, Kiri-chan! Now just keep going pushing and you'll have another healthy bouncing baby."

Ikkaku felt his world turning black as he fell backwards, hitting the floor unconsciously with a loud thud.

Kiriumi looked past the fourth divisioners and noticed Ikkaku passed out in the doorway with Yachiru looking positively traumatized and sitting on his stomach. "What…are they…doing here?" She panted, looking to her sister for some help.

Before Retsu could even open her mouth Yumichika showed up in the doorway. "Please, ignore them, I'll take them away. Congratulations on the girl, Kiri-chan, good luck with the next one!"

Before Yumichika had even fully disappeared, Kenpachi stood in the doorway. "Now I don't care what you have to say, Unohana-taichō, I ain't goin' nowhere."

Kiriumi smiled in his direction, listening to her sister who was whispering soothing reassurances in her ear, as well as reminding her when to push. "Kenpachi, we…ngh…have a little…girl…"

Kenpachi smiled at her, but not one she'd ever seen before, oh no. This smile meant everything in the world to her. It was a real smile, one with no walls to hide behind, one that had no ulterior motives. This smile was nothing more than happiness shared between two people.

"Looks like this baby is ready to catch up to its sister." Retsu commented, squeezing Kiriumi's hand. "Now push, Kiriumi-chan."

"Argh…these brats just…don't wanna leave…do they? ...Nnngh!" Kiriumi cringed as she pushed once more. The second baby was much easier than its sister and was quick to come out.

Retsu left her sisters side to check on the other child. "Kiriumi…"

A chill ran up her spine as she heard her sister call her name. "Nee-san, wha…what's wrong with…number two…?"

A silence settled over the room, one that was eating away at Kiriumi's very being.

A loud cry broke through the silence as the second baby began noisily shrieking. "Congratulations, Kiriumi, you now have a baby boy as well." Retsu smiled, pushing Kenpachi towards her sister. "Now, Zaraki-taichō, you stay with her and I'll go check on the children."

The doctor called Kiriumi's attention back to her and began explaining the after birth and what needed to be done.

Retsu took the still crying newborn out of the room and brought him to his also crying sister. Just as she had expected, once the twins were together their crying ceased. The two children looked at one another then back at their aunt. "I see." Retsu smiled at the two of them, stroking the soft black hair of the boy, then moving on to the girl. "You two are going to do great things together. Never let anyone separate you."

The girl cooed loudly under her aunt's soft touch, smiling brightly up at the fourth division captain and taking a firm hold of her finger.

A peaceful smile shone at the small girl and Retsu took her hand back to write down a few things.

_Baby one:_

_ Name: Undecided_

_ Gender: Female_

_ ToB: January 18__at 7:43 A.M._

_ Weight: 6.3 pounds_

_ Length: 12.4 inches_

_ Hair: Black_

_ Eyes: Blue_

_ Notes: Strong grip, healthy, active, intelligent, strongly attached to her brother._

_Baby two:_

_ Name: Undecided_

_ Gender: Male_

_ ToB: January 18 at 7:51 A.M._

_ Weight: 6 pounds_

_ Length 11.9 inches_

_ Hair: Black_

_ Eyes: Blue_

_ Notes: Healthy, active, intelligent, reserved, strongly attached to his sister._

"Yes, I'm sure of it, you two will do great things together. Now let's introduce you two to your parents." Retsu smiled, picking up the children and tucking them both securely in her grasps.

The room was deathly silent as Retsu walked in. Her large smile was enough reassurance to let Kiriumi know everything was okay. "Nee-san, where are they? Where are my babies?"

"Here is your little boy." Retsu stated, handing the boy who'd been swaddled in a blue blanket to his mother.

Taking hold of her baby boy, Kiriumi looked down at him, directly in his eyes. The two connected in a way she knew could only be shared between a mother and her child. It was a time where the child, though not even sure of its own surroundings, could speak to the one who had carried it for months.

"Definitely Kenichi." Kiriumi smiled, watching her little boy look up at her as she softly caressed his pudgy little cheek. "He's a quiet one, but I can already tell, he is going to be insanely strong."

Kenpachi took hold of Kenichi and looked down at the little one. Kenichi reached out to his father, taking hold of one of his loose strands of hair and tugging on it. The captain chuckled at his son and looked at his mother. "Yeah, he'll do alright. Kenichi Zaraki."

Retsu made a move to hand the pink swaddled child to her mother. The room suddenly went dark and a dark, overpowering reiatsu filled the fourth division. A gasp came from Retsu's direction and a loud crying came from Kenpachi's arms.

The room lit up again; Kenichi bawled loudly in Kenpachi's arms, Kiriumi rushed out of the bed she'd been laying on and to her sister's side, Retsu lay against the wall, blood draining from her shoulder where a knife lay jammed into it. A note was also attached to the knife.

"Onee-san!" Kiriumi cried, looking to her sister. Retsu waved off her sisters attention and handed her the note. She read it silently to herself before reading it aloud to everyone there. Tears were already forming in her eyes as she spoke. "_You're still alive, and that disgusts me. I won't allow you to keep this up though. Now you make the ultimate choice: your life or the life of your child. Be careful with this decision. If you want your baby back meet me in Karakura Town in one week at the stroke of midnight. Bring whoever you want, there's nothing you can do anyway. I'll see you there. Hitomi._"

Kenpachi ran over to the Unohana sisters, still clutching the crying Kenichi to his chest. "We'll find her, Kiriumi."

Crumpling up the note she tossed it to the ground. "You're damn straight we will. And no one's gonna die because of it."

* * *

Ohh, intense…

"Nobody is gonna touch my babies. Ever. I'm getting her back." Kiriumi glowered.

I know, you're definitely gonna be kicking some ass soon.


	29. Chapter 27

"Narrator?" Kiriumi looked around for the procrastinating woman, but could find her nowhere. "Where the hell is she hiding now?"

Urghhh…

Kiriumi whipped out her sword and stared wide eyed at the Narrator, who had turned into a zombie. "What happened to you?"

My readers who are all ready to maim me won't do so if they think I'm dead. So from now on I'm going to pretend to be a zombie. It's fool proof!

* * *

Holding the sleeping infant, Kiriumi stared listlessly out of the window into the red sky. All week she could feel the hole in her heart throbbing; she never even got the chance to hold her baby girl. "I can't think like his." She sighed, caressing the cheek of Kenichi.

The time was coming. The night was closing in, which meant that very soon she would be facing Hitomi once more.

And she wouldn't be leaving without her little girl.

"Kiriumi." Kenpachi's voice was soothing to the troubled mother. Placing his hand on her shoulder he looked down at the child and his lover. "We gotta go."

Standing to face her captain, Kiriumi met his visible eye. "Kenpachi, I've realized what needs to be done." Lowering her eyes she met eyes with her little boy. Through those eyes she could tell that he knew something was going on. "I don't want to kill her. I don't. But I will if I have to."

"Kiri…" Kenpachi started, but she held up her hand to silence him.

"I know, Kenpachi." Leaning her head against his strong chest, she sighed. "I just need to know that you'll let me do what I need to do, even if things look bad."

Somehow he'd known that she'd be asking something like that. "I understand." It was true, he did understand. This was going to be her moment, and no one could take that from her.

"Thank you." Kiriumi smiled as she leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "I love you, Kenpachi."

Softly he brushed her bangs away from her eyes and placed his forehead against hers. "Love you, Kiriumi."

A quiet coo was heard from between the two of them. Snuggling Kenichi closely, his mother softly kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Kenichi."

The door slid open, drawing the incomplete looked at Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Time to go, you three." Yumichika said, reaching out to take Kenichi.

Kiriumi gently passed the infant to her dear friend. "You two know I trust you both completely. And right now, I am relying on the two of you to keep him safe."

Ikkaku meaningfully placed his hand on her shoulder. "We will. I promise."

* * *

Slowly walking the empty streets of Karakura Town, Kiriumi kept a hand on Hoshiyabun. Kenpachi followed at a safe distance, preparing himself for anything. Ikkaku and Yumichika also remained diligent; Urahara agreed to allow them to stay at his shop to hide Kenichi.

"Hitomi-chan, I'm here! Let me see my child now!" Kiriumi called, having returned to the place where she'd first reunited with Hitomi.

"Getting demanding now?" Hitomi glowered, holding the child in one hand and a sword in the other.

Hesitantly the new mother released her hold on Hoshiyabun. "I know that you don't want to hurt her. Just hand me my child. I will give her to her father and we can talk about this."

"You think I'm that stupid?" Hitomi cried, holding her sword up to Kiriumi's throat. "No, this won't be over until you're dead!"

The young child in her arms shrieked when she felt the presence of her mother.

Swiftly unsheathing Hoshiyabun, Kiriumi deflected the thrown sword. "Why did it come to this?" Despite the awkwardness of holding the child, Hitomi still found ways to attack using her fists. Kiriumi, fearing she would accidentally harm her baby girl, threw Hoshiyabun to the ground and used her forearms to take all the attacks. "Don't you remember? All the time you spent raising me? Hitomi-chan, please tell me you haven't forgotten everything!"

Stopping the barrage, Hitomi placed her hand to her head. All these memories she still had were too strong. "You were little..." She could see a little Kiriumi, always smiling and affectionate. The memory of Kiriumi's first love and heart break came back to her. Even the day she left, when she cried and promised to visit again and again. "But you left us!"

"I came back!" Kiriumi pressed, placing her hand over her heart. "I wanted so much to see you all again, but I didn't realize what had happened! When I got there everyone was dead already. It wasn't my fault!"

"That's a lie! It has to be!" The distraught woman continued cradling the infant carefully as she lunged at Kiriumi once more.

Seeing an opening the fourth seat dove for her weapon. Hitomi spun around just in time to feel Hoshiyabun thrust through her stomach. "I'm so sorry…" Kiriumi began to tear as she held Hitomi and her child as Hitomi sank to ground, blood dripping from her lips. "I want you to know that I never wanted this to happen."

"I know…" Hitomi looked up at her old friend, loosing feeling to her lower body. "I can see clearly now." More blood flew from her mouth as she coughed. "Kiriumi…I'm so-"

"Shh…" Kiriumi smiled sadly as she hugged her dying friend closer. "I know. You are still very dear to me, Hitomi-chan."

"You will be a wonderful mother…I love you…"

A choked sob escaped her lips as she lowered her dead friend to the floor. Holding her baby girl close Kiriumi continued to cry.

Kenpachi approached his lover and daughter and kneeled down next to them, wrapping his strong arms around the crying woman. "Come on, Kiri. It's time to go home."

* * *

The calm of the early morning filled the eleventh division. The large captain of the division slept soundly, snugly holding his wife as he did so. The peace was quickly interrupted, however, when the door slammed open and two energetic children dashed into the room and launched themselves onto the bed. "Kiri!" The girl cried, hopping up and down on the bed. "Time to wake up!"

The boy also hopped on the bed, instead trying to push his father off of it. "You too, Kenpachi!"

Lazily Kiriumi swatted at the two on the bed, slowly opening her eyes. "It's so early…" Taking hold of her little girl, she snuggled the struggling child. "Oh, is Hitomi-chan afraid of snuggles from me?"

The little girl shrieked in playful excitement. "You gotta wake up now!"

"C'mon, Kenpachi," Kiriumi smiled, "You can't leave me to take on the two of them by myself!"

Kenichi jumped over his father and landed on his mother and sister. "Let's get her, 'Tomi-chan!" The two children then began to playfully tickle their mother while she attempted to wrestle the two into submission.

Suddenly Hitomi was picked up by her collar by the large man who was now lazily opening his eyes. "Well, I got one." Kenpachi couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips as the small girl struggled wildly.

"Now this is a fair fight!" Kiriumi laughed as she pinned down the young boy that continued to wrestle against his mother. Once the two children had been detained, the mother looked at her husband. "So what do you think we should do now, Kenpachi?"

"I say we put 'em to work." The captain grinned, watching the kids' faces scrunch up.

"What a grand idea!" She laughed, taking her sun and setting him on the floor. "I'm going to get started on breakfast, and I want you guys to wake up everyone in the division and tell them that taichō has ordered everyone to run laps around the division."

"Yes, Kiri!" The two chimed running off to do as they'd been ordered.

Lazily rolling out of bed, Kiriumi dressed for the day and went off to the kitchen. Surprisingly the kitchen was already occupied by Ikkaku and his girlfriend Majimeko. "Good morning, you two." She greeted, heading over to the stove to start breakfast.

Maji smiled sweetly, pulling her hand away from Ikkaku's. The poor girl was always very nervous in the eleventh division, and she seemed even more so in front of Kiriumi. The girl from the fourth division approached Kiriumi and smiled shyly. "Is there anything I can do to help, Unohana-san?"

"Please, Majimeko-san, call me Kiriumi." The chef smiled. "And if you'd like you're more than welcome to begin chopping vegetables for an omlette."

As Maji complied, Yachiru sauntered into the room. "Hey, Kiri!" The lieutenant had grown much in the years that had passed. No longer did she look like a little child, but now she appeared to be a blossoming young woman. "So what's going on this morning? Where are Hitomi-chan and Kenichi-kun?"

"Is that a hint that you're bored?" Kiriumi smiled, handing a large mass of eggs to the girl and very large bowl. "I've got some eggs that need cracking. And the children are waking everyone in the division."

"So here's where everyone is at!" Yumichika smiled brightly as he joined the group in the kitchen. "I'm assuming everyone's being put to work. Shall I begin on the rice?"

Another smile graced her lips as she watched everyone take their places. Ikkaku had gracefully made his way over to where Maji worked on slicing, and picked up a knife to help her out. Everyone member of the family had their roles to play. Two strong arms pulled the distracted fourth seat close to a strongly toned chest. "So what's left for us?"

Spinning to face her husband, Kiriumi smiled brightly and stood up on her toes to place a loving kiss on his lips. "Honestly, there really isn't much. I figured I'd fry up some meat, if you want to help me with that."

The captain hummed in response as the two walked over to the stove. Kenpachi stood behind his lover, his hands holding her hips as she worked.

When the kids returned to the kitchen they found a feast prepared and set out on the long table. The two took seats on either side of their older sister figure, Yachiru, across the table Kenpachi and Kiriumi sat close, Yumichika sat between them and Ikkaku and Majimeko. Together the family that they were could really shine.

Kiriumi watched her children, her first love and his new love, her darling friend, and her true love and felt the joy filling her. So many years had passed since it all began. So many people had come in and out of her life. The terror of falling in love again, the chaos of having children…It had all made her the woman she was today.

Even the bad things: The war with Aizen, killing Hitomi, that presence that had not been felt again since that day. Everyone still felt a slight bit of unease knowing that there was something out there, but considering how many years it had been since it last appeared, the presence was not often thought of.

The future was what really excited her the most. No one knew what would happen for certain, however, Kiriumi had a good idea. Ikkaku had found the one for him, Yumichika was forever involved in the lives of his friends, Yachiru was growing more and more independent by the day, Kenichi and Hitomi were growing up so quickly too. And Kenpachi. Oh, Kenpachi. The two lovers were as tight as ever; married and still madly in love with each other.

And, though he didn't know it yet, their family was about to expand once again.

Placing a hand on her still barely noticeable baby bump, Kiriumi used her other hand to take Kenpachi's. "Perfect…"

* * *

Well, I think that is the best ending I've done yet.

"I approve," Kiriumi smiled happily. "It's been quite a journey, huh?"

That it has. And who knows? We may meet again…


End file.
